2009-01-02 12:28:28

Hindu Filmmaker’s Movie on Lourdes’ Saint Premiered in Goa


(January 2, 2009) An Indian Hindu who recently made a film on Saint Bernadette and her Marian visions at Lourdes says the movie shows how ordinary people can make the world better. Our Lady of Lourdes, produced by Kamalakar Rao, premiered on December 21 in Panaji, capital of coastal Goa state, 1,910 kilometres southwest of New Delhi. V.R. Gopinath, also a Hindu, directed the 85-minute film. It was made in English but has been dubbed in French and three languages spoken in southern India –- Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil. This film depicts the life of Saint Bernadette Soubirous and her visions of the Blessed Mother in Lourdes, southern France, in 1858. Born there to an impoverished family in 1844, the saint died in 1879, aged 35, at a local convent. The movie was shot in green locales in Kerala, a southern Indian state. Ajna Noiseux, a 14-year-old girl of French origin living in Kerala, plays the lead role. "The movie shows that an ordinary person, without money, can make a difference in the world,” Rao said in an interview. “Saint Bernadette’s story is of selfless service. We can even argue she could have been an inspiration to Blessed Mother Teresa." The producer said he made the movie because the saint’s modest way of living, dedication to her ideals and faithfulness to her call are “important messages to the present society." Rao said personal visits to Lourdes in 2006 and 2007, and the encouragement of Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad helped him complete the film. Rao lives in Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh state, about 750 kilometers northeast of Panaji. In 2007, the movie won an honorable mention at the Accolade Film Awards in San Diego, United States, and the audience award for best feature film at the Pause and Play International Film Festival in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.







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