NGC’s stopover at Tirumala

Documentary film ‘Inside Tirumala Tirupati’, the first-of-its-kind National Geographic Exclusive premieres on March 27 at 9pm

It might appear straight from the pages of ‘Ripley’s Believe it or not’, but the fact of the matter is that two of the most iconic names in known history have not come under the same frame till date.

Yes, for all its exuberant globe-trotting exclusives, National Geographic India has never featured Tirumala Tirupati temple.

This equation, though, is all set to change come March 27.

In what comes as music to the ears, the famed temple opens its doors for the very first time to cameras of the National Geographic India.

In keeping with the channel’s incredible status as being the foremost in its category, it has readied ‘Inside Tirumala Tirupati’, which is directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Rajendra Srivathsa Kondapalli.

According to the director, the exclusive feature offers a journey into the spiritual home of Lord Venkateswara Swamy.

A major USP is that unlike the hours spent on standing in serpentine queues for a fleeting glimpse of the deity; this film will transport the viewer right inside the temple and its surroundings.

This is akin to getting a front-row seat to witness events like the spectacular annual celebration of Brahmostavam– a ritual event that attracts such massive crowds that it makes the Tirumala temple one of the most visited pilgrimages in the world.

The film takes viewers inside the most memorable experiences associated with the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple, presenting the magnificent sanctum and its setting through time-lapse and hyper-lapse photography.

“We walk alongside devotees who scale the Seven Hills on foot for a coveted spiritual sighting of the Lord. Besides Annaprasadam kitchens, we enter exclusive temple kitchens, where the world-famous laddu is prepared as ‘prasadam’.

The film gives a peep into the professionally manned crowd management systems as also the scale of operations managed seamlessly by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).

One also gets a closer look at the caretakers of the temple - the priests and jeers besides a peep into the very special school – Veda Paathashala for priests that seems to have fallen out of the pages of ancient texts.

In perhaps one of the most exclusive scenes, the film gives viewers an intimate look into the innermost sanctum of the temple through the made-for-television replica temple called ‘Namoona Aalayam’ that allows cameras to capture the special chamber of the main deity of Sri Venkateswara Swamy (moolvirat) without breaking religious protocol, explains the director, who has been earlier decorated with Asian Television Award (Singapore), CMS Vatavaran, the Golden Beaver Award at the National Science Festival, among others.

Rajendra stated that it took more than a year to develop and produce the film.

The multiple-award winning filmmaker has won laurels for the qualitative efficiency he brings about in non-fiction programming that were showcased across the spectrum including National Geographic Channel International, National Geographic Channel (India), Discovery Networks, BBC Worldwide and Doordarshan.

The National Geographic exclusive-Inside Tirumala Tirupati- that will be blend of the Channel’s sublime workmanship and the director’s proven calibre is their salutation to the Lord of the seven Hills. One can get a feel of the temple right in the drawing room!