Unfiltered Ayodhya story, ‘Vodka Diaries’ fame filmmaker Kushal Srivastava’s “The Battle of Ayodhya”!
Air force officer turned Director #KushalSrivastava who is known for his direction in #KayKayMenon starrer ‘#VodkaDiaries’, ‘#TheJob’ featuring #KalkiKoechlin and ‘Speed Dial’ featuring Shreyas Talpade; now brings the docu-series titled “The Battle of Ayodhya” which unveils untold Truths Behind Ram Mandir & Babri Mosque Saga released on YouTube channel Vedshaala.
The five episode series shed light on unheard narratives of Ayodhya Ram Mandir Saga. It has been made under the banner of Flying Dreams Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Shredding light on interesting historical anecdotes which he got to know which people aren’t aware of, he stated, “I think people need to know that people of Ayodhya give lot of importance to brotherhood and Coexistence. Lawyers from both sides used to go in same auto rikshaw as they were fighting in court but were friends outside of court. The person who was detailed to change Ram ji’s clothes was a muslim guy. Not only this, I also learnt that Lord Ram fought his own legal case as a legal entity in the judicial proceedings.”
On talking about how the whole idea of making the docu-series came up, he tells, “When Mr. Sarit Agarwal, an educator and a professional from IIT BHU, approached me with his innovative concept of ‘Vedshaala,’ a platform designed to connect our ancient Indian history with the youth of today while empowering them to navigate the contemporary complex challenges, I found the idea compelling. Despite Ayodhya’s recent challenges, I believed it would be the right place to initiate this transformative endeavor. Mr. Sarit, my team and I went on a recce to Ayodhya with the intention of devouring every detail, we met several seers and most of them had one prevailing sentiment – Ram is our idol, he imparted lessons of co-existence and an ideal state of living, be it his kingdom, relationships, business or personal. There is no place for hatred in Ram’s heart. We met people from both sides and they all spoke about brotherhood & harmony.”
When quizzed about the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir that happened even before its completion as many people claim it to be a political propaganda, he tells, “I have met religious top boisses there and I strongly feel they are not influenced by any party. They clearly keep Lord Ram above all and they did the honour when they felt the need to do it. Ram ji’s statue got a better place which can’t be questioned.”
Talking about the main a behind creating this docu-series, he mentioned, “This is a collective effort, not only from me but from many people who felt that this message of Ram Lalla needs to be passed on to generations to come. If you watch the documentary, you will get an idea of our good intent and the message of people of both sides in Ayodhya that we want to portray to the world. It was a life changing experience, not only to me but to all my team members who have been a part of this project, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. We all came together to bring to light the truth and history is witness to this day, that truth prevails and the world will watch it.”
The docu-series features prominent personalities like Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad (Former Union minister of Law & Justice), Rahul Shrivastava (Journalist & Commentator), Vinay Katiyar (Founder of Bajrang Dal), Ranjana Agnihotri (Sr. Advocate), Iqbal Ansari (Prime litigant in the case), Acharya Satyendra Das (Chief Priest of Ram temple), KK Muhammed (Archeologist) and many more. Produced by Sarit Agarwal and Kushal Srivastava, the documentary has been extensively shot in Ayodhya, Lucknow, Delhi & Mumbai.