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This documentary is a sartorial journey in search of who made my cloth? Who wove it? Where is the place of origin etc.? Clothes do not merely envelope the body, it connects with memory, identity, culture, race, sexuality and a lot. In India, khadi was the key to freedom and self-reliance that Mahatma Gandhi had envisaged for the nation. Now Khadi is do not merely fashion but it is embedded in the road to notion of freedom.

Profile

R. Sarath is an Indian film director and screenplay writer working primarily in the Malayalam film industry. Early in his career his name featured among Indian film makers revered internationally. He has received nine international awards, one national award and four kerala state awards. His films have also been at multiple international platforms across the world. Sarath’s rendezvous with films started with Sayahnam (Twilight) in 2000.The film marked his debut as a director and script writer, and had won accolades at the Kerala State Film Awards. Sayahnam won staggering seven awards at the Sate Film Awards and also the Indira Gandhi National Award for debut director. The film was featured at the Munich International Film Festival, 2001 in the competition section and then got invited to many other popular international film festivals.
In his next feature film Sthithi (Plight) Sarath told the gripping tale of a middle-class couple who face the onslaughts of fortune. The film premiered at the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2003 and received rave reviews at various international film festivals where it was screened. His third feature film Seelabathi (2006) a harrowing drama set in rural Kerala exposed grave social evils. The story unfurled through the experiences of two youth who came from outside the village. The film received both box-office success and positive reviews from critics and premiered at the Asia Pacific film festival in Taiwan.
Sarath also scripted and directed a Hindi feature film, an Indo-Chinese co-production tilted The Desire - A journey of a woman (2011). The unique film was screened at various international film festivals and fetched numerous honours, most prominent being the best film award at the Geneva International Film Festival. The film bagged awards at the New Jersey, New York, Boston and London Asian International Film Festivals. ‘The Desire’ depicts the eventful journey of an Indian classical dancer and her love for a Chinese artist whom she met during a travel. The film starring Indian actress Shilpa Shetty and Chinese superstar Xia Yu celebrates the theme of love beyond borders. In Parudeesa (2012) Sarath embraced new horizons of thought delineating the perpetual disagreement between orthodox and unorthodox paths of religion. Parudeesa bagged awards at the Mexican International Film Festival and the Amsterdam Film Festival. This popular film is still screened at festival circuits internationally.
His film Buddhan Chirikkunnu (Buddha Smiles) pays homage to Charlie Chaplin the maestro who never ceases to amaze with his phenomenal career. The film celebrates Chaplin’s life at the centennial commemoration of his acting career. It portrays an Indian comedian who idolises Chaplin. He believes his life resembles Chaplin’s and nurtures the desire to depict his hero on the big screen. However, he rules out a blind imitation of the late legend. His latest film Swayam depicts the hidden social stigmas concerned to autism. The film shows how a child and a mother brave the storms for their survival in the society that doesn’t accommodate an autistic child.
During the filming of his internationally acclaimed documentary The Painted Epics, Sarath discovered some rare mural paintings of Raja Ravi Varma in Kilimanoor temple. The serendipitous discovery contributed greatly to the study of murals. Sarath has studied murals in detail and received a junior fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India in 1996, for his research on murals. He is now involved in experimental non-feature films which covers contemporary themes.
Of date there are 10 documentaries and 5 short films also to Sarath’s credit. Purani Dhun (Hindi), The Painted Epics, Divine Love, and Lasyangana mesmerised art lovers in India and abroad with its visual poetry and classic rendering. The docu-fictional Bhumikku Oru Charamagitam (A Requiem to Earth), a short film on eco-feministic aesthetics based on the renowned Malayalam poem of the same name by legendary poet O. N. V. Kurup was greatly appreciated for its style and has been screened before elite audiences, both at home and abroad.

R. Sarath, is a post graduate in English literature and received formal training in Film Production and Journalism. His skills were honed while being an apprentice with revered Indian Film maker Shaji N. Karun and the Swiss legend Markoos Impoof. He recently retired as Deputy Director at the Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Kerala. He previously served as the Director of MPCC and Secretary of Bharat Bhavan under the Kerala State Cultural department. Sarath also had the honour of working as visual Director in India’s first prestigious multi-media project - Geet Govinda, a collaboration involving The Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi and the multimedia design expertise of XEROX Palo Alto Research centre, USA. Dr Kapila Vatsyayan wrote the script for this multimedia venture in 1997. Sarath was the festival director of IUKFF 2007 in London. He also served as a jury member for the National Film Award in 2011 and was the jury Chairman of the Kerala State Television Award in 2012.

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS as DIRECTOR

The DESIRE-JORNEY OF A WOMEN – AN INDO-CHINESE co-production starring XIA YU and SHILPA SHETTY

WOLKAN UBER KERALA– [Clouds over Kerala] A German film produced by Klaus Liebig

GEET GOVIND– co production by Xerox PARC, USA and IGNCA New Delhi

A FORGOTTEN HERO– A co production by Film London and Krishna Menon foundation, London
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Awards and acclaims
Nine International Awards
One National Award
Four State Awards
International Awards
Geneva international film festival - The Desire (Best film)
London Asian film festival - The Desire (Best Film)
New York City international film festival - The Desire (Best Film and Best Music)
South Asian International film festival, New Jersey - The Desire (Best Music and Best Actress)
Jaipur International film festival - The Desire (Best Actress)
Stuttgart International film festival - Sheelabathi (Best Film)
Asia Pacific film festival, Taipei (Best Director)
Mexican International film festival - Parudeesa (Best Script)
Amsterdam International film festival - Parudeesa (Best Editor)
National award
Indira Gandhi National award for the debut director
State awards
Best film
Best story
Best Second film
Best short films

This documentary is a sartorial journey in search of who made my cloth? Who wove it? Where is the place of origin etc.? Clothes do not merely envelope the body, it connects with memory, identity, culture, race, sexuality and a lot. In India, khadi was the key to freedom and self-reliance that Mahatma Gandhi had envisaged for the nation. Now Khadi is do not merely fashion but it is embedded in the road to notion of freedom.