Telefilm on Sr Rani Maria depicts virtue of forgiveness

Film outlines story of Kerala nun who was killed in Indore 17 years ago

A still from the film A still from the film

A 42-minute telefilm depicting the life of Sister Rani Maria—a nun hailing from Kerala who was killed near Indore in Madhya Pradesh in February 1995 and beatified in the year 2008—was premiered by the Indore Catholic Diocese at an event held at Atmadarshan Foundation, Indore, recently.

The film titled Sr Rani Maria – A story of forgiveness is produced by the Franciscan Clarist Congregation (FCC), Amala Province Bhopal, and created by Atmadarshan TV, a YouTube channel by Prerna Communications that propagates messages of Jesus Christ.

The telefilm is currently available on Atmadarshan TV and there is a plan to telecast it on other platforms. The release ceremony and the premier screening was held in the presence of Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal of Indore Diocese and Sister Princy Rose, provincial superior of the FCC, Amala Province.

Sister Rani Maria was born in Ernakulam district of Kerala on January 29, 1954 as Regina Mariam Vattalil and assumed the religious name 'Rani Maria'. She was a Syro Malabar professed religious and a social worker in the Franciscan Clarist Congregation working for the poor within the Diocese of Indore. Apart from religious and teaching activities, Sister Maria was vocal in matters of social justice and in social activism. She was brutally killed on February 25, 1995 near Indore, enroute Bhopal from Dewas, at the behest of local moneylenders who were opposed to her efforts in aiding the poor and making them self-reliant.

Her cause of canonization commenced in 2003 and she was titled as a Servant of God. Her beatification received approval from Pope Francis on March 23, 2017 and she was beatified (a step short of sainthood) in Indore on November 4, 2017.

Speaking at the premier event, Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal said that Blessed Rani Maria was one of the first persons in Madhya Pradesh who successfully implemented the concept of SHG (self help groups) in her efforts to organise the poor tribal people against the exploitation of local moneylenders.

Director of Atmadarshan TV, Father Anand underlined that the purpose of the film making is to depict the virtue of forgiveness. One of the highlights of the story of Sister Maria is that her blood sister visited her murderer Samandar Singh in the prison in 2002 and tied Rakhi on his hands as a sign of forgiveness on behalf of the family. 

“Even today the virtue of forgiveness is alive for us. We are called to do so in the most unforgettable situations,” Father Anand said.

Sources told THE WEEK that Sister Rani's mother also visited Singh in prison to forgive him. Later, Samandar Singh, who was released from prison in early 2006 on account of good conduct, visited the family in Kerala. Even now he remains in touch with the family members as one of their own. 

The movie is directed by Father Selvin Ignatius. Speaking at the premier, he said that making of the film was a personal and close journey with Blessed Rani Maria. “In the flashback I experienced her deep physical and mental pain,” he said. 

The assistant director of the telefilm is Femin Jacob. The story is by Riju Chandrayan while the director of photography is Deepak Pandey. The film was edited by Nitheesh K. Das. The cast includes Ami Neema in lead, Keshav and Madhu and many artists from Indore. The sound score is by Ebin Pallichan (Kerala) and art direction is by Vishal Mehta (Ujjain).

Awards to the winners of Goa International Film Competition were presented to Nitheesh K. Das for best Editor, Femin Jacob for Best Creative Art, and Tresa Wilson for best child actress. 

Sister Prabha of FCC, Bhopal was also present at the event. Sister Nisha Joseph SSpS welcomed the guests, while vote of thanks was proposed by Sister Anjena.