Filmmaker Vidhi Kasliwal’s documentary Vidyoday will be screened at the Parliament of the World's Religions, which is being held online from 16 to 18 October. The film is based on the life of the renowned Jain monk Acharya Vidyasagar.
Swami Vivekananda famously made a historic speech at the first edition of the event, which was held in Chicago in 1893.
A statement from the makers of the documentary read, “This captivating documentary traces the pursuit of Acharya Vidyasagar, who has, for over 50 years, practised sacrifice, simplicity, peace and non-violence in thoughts, actions and deeds. The film chronicles the journey of this Muni [monk] from his childhood to his monasticism and his elevation to Acharyahood (leadership), along with his teachings, his scholastic and literary works, tapasya (penance) and his contributions there on to the Jain community and society.”
Kasliwal said, "I am overwhelmed that Vidyoday, our humble attempt to narrate his story while throwing light on the various facets of Jainism, will be screened on the same platform where Swami Vivekananda left an indelible mark. India is a rich cauldron of spiritualism, and we must keep celebrating that."
She added, "Acharya Vidyasagarji has made a huge contribution to Jainism, which is one of India's most ancient religions. It is only fitting that his frugal yet fulfilling life is shown to the world through Parliament of the World's Religions, which celebrates religious and spiritual communities who are working towards building a peaceful and sustainable world.”
After making her directorial debut with the Hindi film Isi Life Mein…! (2010), Kasliwal went on to produce a number of Marathi movies under her banner Landmarc Films such as Vazandar (2016), Ringan (2017), Gachchi (2017), Redu (2018), Pipsi (2018) and Nashibvaan (2019).
Her upcoming Marathi movie Medium Spicy has an ensemble cast, which comprises Lalit Prabhakar, Sai Tamhankar, Parna Pethe, Neena Kulkarni and Neha Joshi.