“Imagine India on a boat. The boat is only as strong as the people in it,” AR Rahman says in the opening narration of short film Thaalam: Rhythm of the Nation. As the music maestro turns narrator, his words slowly sink in; the background score picks pace and we are introduced to visuals from the picturesque backwaters of Kerala.
Through Kerala's snake boat races, the film passes on the message of unity, of standing together as one for the nation. Thaalam takes the viewer to the process that goes on behind the boat races, the vigorous training and what it takes for over a 100 strangers to come together, and row towards one goal.
"At the boat races of Kerala, not one man is a professional athlete, in fact, they are like you and me, fishermen, farmers, postmen, shopkeepers, school teachers. To row as one, they need more than just speed and talent. They need to find the Thaalam,” Rahman says.
“To move forward as a nation, is to dream together, to aspire together, to build together. Let us find our Thaalam, as a nation together."
Directed by Bharatbala, the film is the first of 1,000 short films—a collective titled Virtual Bharat.
Actor Dulquer Salmaan also shared the video. He wrote: “I am so proud to present 'Thaalam: The Rhythm of a Nation'! Set in our very own chundan vallam (snake boat) races, Thaalam is a film about how 150 men on a boat from all walks of life find their Thaalam and row together! It is a message from all of us in Kerala to all our brothers and sisters across our great nation to row in rhythm together!”
