Adi Shankaracharya

Adi Shankaracharya is well known not only in India but the rest of the world. He lived around 1100 years ago and has worked greatly for the benefit of Hindu society. His life is pure and beyond question. He is an inspiration to all human beings.

G.V.Iyer has captured the mood of the times of Adi Shankara so well that we feel that we are leaving in a bygone era while watching the movie. It is taken as an art movie more than a commercial movie and is a treat to watch. Selection of actors is also good, also the locations and the narration. The language and the scenes in the movie depict the times and is not influenced by the present condition. Also there is no exaggeration which is attempted in the movie. G.V.Iyer has also taken movies like Madhvacharya, Ramanujacharya, Bhagavad Gita, Shantala, Swami Vivekananda, Hamsa Geethe to name a few. All the movies are simple, but the message and mood is definitely out of the world experience. Hope our new trend of directors will imbibe from the likes of G.V.Iyer which I feel is a real tribute to the master.

Its a very well shot movie with the scenes mostly speaking for themselves, although the dialogues are great in Sanskrit. Shri GV Iyer definitely must've understood the advaita philosophy well to do such a fantabulous job. Moreover, the director has kept the events that had varied opinions (that is, where not everyone agrees on what exactly happened then) left to interpretation in most cases.

The acting of each individual is praiseworthy. The Vedic recitation has been captured well, and in these modern years, one of the most difficult jobs of bringing in age-old authenticity to the geography has been achieved without doubt.

The movie brings an amazing calm with it and takes you at a different level with each scene, also making you want to see more of GV Iyer's works. Sadly, he passed away before finishing his work on Ramayana.

This is a Sanskrit biographical film on Adi Shankaracharya.

The film is an excellent summary of the key events in the life of Adi Shankaracharya. He was the foremost guru who walked the length and breadth of Bharat elaborating and teaching people on the principles of Sanatana Dharma (to the masses) and Advaita Vedanta (to scholars). He was a visionary who set up four mutts in the four corners of the country for the propagation of Sanatana Dharma (more commonly known as Hinduism). A scholar who provided simple commentaries on the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and the Brahma Sutras - the most revered texts of Sanatana Dharma. A poet who wrote lilting poems on Devi, Shiva, Ganga and many such divinities. A humanitarian who set up a method of worship, preached sects to come together and even wrote simple introductory granthas for people to move forward on the spiritual path. All this before giving up the physical frame by the age of 32.

You must not miss this film about the greatest spiritual legend who has walked the sacred bhoomi of Bharatavarsha.

The director GV Iyer and the lead Sarvadaman Banerjee do full justice. It's also commendable that this was the first Sanskrit film made in Bharat.

The movie is an honest effort to portray life and work of Shri Adi Shankaracharya who revived Sanatana Dharma which was jolted by Buddhism and urgently needed repairs and was about to fall. The movie is picturised in locations that takes you to time and place of His time. The sound and dialogue are perfect. Music is great and every character played their part perfectly. It is made originally in Sanskrit language and in fact is the first Sanskrit movie. The movie is first serious effort to bring life of a man who is an incarnation of lord Shiva and infact the incarnation just to protect Vedic wisdom after the great sage Shri Vyasadeva and only been followed by Lord Chaitanya and Great Swami Vivekananda.

I am thankful to the director for making this movie. The idea of depicting Death as a young companion of Adi Shankara is just brilliant. It also gives us a glimpse of times past and the glory and heroism of Adi Shankara's mission. The only complaint I have is the low-budget nature of the project. The reason must be that the movie was not commercially funded and lacked the financial resources of a big-budget production, but that may be for the better since the director did not have to bow to commercial compulsions in making the movie. A grander production of the same movie in regional languages is long overdue given Adi Shankara's instrumental role in reconciling Buddhist philosophy with Vedic Philosophy and singlehandedly revitalizing Dharma in India.