Govt believes this will also help strengthen India’s soft power in the world by showcasing the Constitution as a progressive, forward-looking document.
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has picked a private agency to make a documentary film on Dalit icon and architect of India’s Constitution B.R. Ambedkar to showcase his life, work and philosophy to foreign audiences.
The film titled Mooknayak, which was the name of Ambedkar’s first newspaper, will be made by All Time Productions.
Although the film will be put up on the MEA website that anyone can access, it will be particularly targeted at foreign audiences who may not know much about Ambedkar, an MEA official said speaking on the condition of anonymity. It will be shown across India’s missions abroad.
It will also serve the purpose of strengthening India’s soft power in the world by showcasing the Indian Constitution as a progressive, forward-looking document, the official said.
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‘Untold’ Ambedkar
“The idea is to present a modern and contemporary image of India and its towering thought leaders,” All Time Productions said in an official communication.
“In a world searching for heroes and icons, Ambedkar is an enigmatic story — largely untold abroad — and little understood in India,” it said.
The company has requested to use parts of Dr B.R. Ambedkar — a feature film funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and government of Maharashtra and produced by the National Film Development Corporation in 2000 — in the proposed documentary.
The film won three national awards, including the best feature film in English. Yet, it was curiously not shown anywhere officially, a government official said.
While there have been talks in the government to make a documentary on Ambedkar for over a year now, the proposal was cancelled by the government earlier this year.
However, following mass protests in the country by Dalit groups against the alleged dilution of the SC/ST Act in April this year, the proposal was revived, and tenders invited by the government.