Dayasagar Online

More than any other film, people ask me how they can get to see Dayasagar (also known as Daya Sagar, Oceans of Mercy, Karunamoorthy, Karunamayudu ). For a while it was available to buy on DVD, but I'm told that this is no longer the case. So I was pleased to hear that the film is now available to view online at wlivetv. Thanks to whoever it was that gave me the tip off.

Peter Chattaway on Ethnicity in Jesus Films

Over at Film Chat Peter has linked to his article for the Mennonite Brethren Herald, "Ethnicity in Jesus Films". The article's fairly brief but Peter manages to cover The Nativity Story, Color of the Cross, King of Kings (1961), Dayasagar, The Miracle Maker, The Passion of the Christ and Son of Man

Dayasagar Scene Guide

Last week I posted my review of Dayasagar - the Indian Jesus film. As usual I like to accompany that with an analysis of the scenes in the film with accompanying gospel citations.

Annunciation - (Luke 1:26-38)
Joseph's 1st Dream - (Matt 1:18-25)
Census and Birth of Jesus - (Luke 2:1-7)
Shepherds and Angels - (Luke 2:8-15)
Wise men / Magi visit - (Matt 2:1-12)
Joseph's 2nd Dream - (Matt 2:13-15)
Slaughter of the Infants - (Matt 2:16-18)
Jesus as a child - (Luke 2:40, 51-52)
[extra-biblical episodes]
John the Baptist Teaches - (Luke 3:1-18)
Baptism of Jesus - (Mark 1:9-11)
2 Disciples Follow Jesus - (John 1:35-39)

Temptations - (Matt 4:1-11)
Calling of Matthew - (Mark 2:13-17)
Healing a man with Dropsy - (Luke 14:1-6)
Sermon on the Mount - (Matt 5-7)
Healing a Leper - (Mark 1:40-45)
[extra-biblical episodes]
Walking on Water - Matt (14:22-33)
- Intermission -
Woman Caught in Adultery - (John 8:2-11)
Jesus Anointed - (Luke 7:36-50)
Blind Man Healed - (John 9:1-7)
[extra-biblical episode]
Feeding 5000 men - (Mark 6:30-44)
- Let the Children come (Mark 10:13-16)
Attempt to Crown Jesus King - (John 6:14-15)
Raising of Lazarus - (John 11:1-44)
Triumphal Entry - (Matt 21:1-9)
Clearing the Temple - (Mark 11:15-19)
Washing the Disciples Feet - (John 13:1-17)
Last Supper - (Mark 14:17-25)
Jesus's Farewell Speech - (John 14-17)
Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial - (Mark 14:27-31)
Gethsemane - (Mark 14:32-42)
Arrest - (Mark 14:43-50)
Peter's denial - (Mark 14:66-72)
Sanhedrin Trial - (Mark 14:53-64)
Pilate 1st Trial - (Mark 15:1-5)
Beating, Scourging and Mocking - (Mark 15:16-20)
Pilate 2nd Trial - (John 19:4-16)
Road to the Cross - (Luke 23:26-31)
[flashbacks]
Crucifixion - (Mark 15:22-32)
2 Thieves - (Luke 39-43)
Jesus Dies - (Mark 15:33-37)
Earthquake at Death - (Matt 27:51)
Judas Hangs Himself - (Matt 27:5)
Burial - (Mark 15:42-47)
[Resurrection shown]
Appearance Amongst Disciples - (John 21:19-28)
Reinstatement of Peter - (John 21:15-18)
Ascension - (Luke 24:50-53)
Great Commission - (Matt 28:18-20)
(John 3:16)

Notes
This scene guide was created using an un-subtitled version of the film; hence some of it is guess work. Although it always surprises me how much of a Jesus film one can work out without speaking the language. In particular, I have no idea which passages from the Sermon on the Mount were included, only that Jesus was definitely teaching from the top of a large hill at one point.

The film also uses a few flashbacks around the 2nd trial at the hands of Pilate. I think this might be the first Jesus film to do this

The crucifixion is incredibly bloody - probably the most violent before Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in addition to it showing all of the various bits of torutre inflicted by the Romans in Mark 15:15-20 it adds scenes of Jesus walking through a patch of thorns which stick in his bare feet, and shows the blood spurting out of his hands as the nails are driven in. At this point we are shown that even the (already crucified) "bad thief" is unable to watch.

The film contains a couple of healing scenes that are not that common amongst many Jesus films. Firstly the healing of a man with leprosy from (Mark 1:40-45 / Matt 8:1-4). Interestingly the film shows Jesus coming down the large rocky outcrop he is teaching on to heal this man, reflecting a detail in Matt 8:1 that would seem to be simply a continuity link from the Sermon on the Mount back into the structure of Mark's overall narrative. John Gilman, President of the film's main missionary distributors Dayspring International notes how there are more people with leperosy in India than there are Christians, and that as a result this scene tends to be the favourite scene when it is shown.

Secondly, the film also includes the healing of a blind man in John where Jesus uses mud made with his spit as part of the process. That always seems such a distasteful, and undignified method of healing someone that it seems unlikely that this story was fabricated by the early church as some claim.

There are at least three scenes in this film based on events in the gospels where the variations between the different accounts of seemingly the same incident are particularly marked. In each case it is interesting that the film uses the fullest and most visual account available. Firstly, the story of Christ walking on the water and calming the storm. Only Matthew includes Peter's act of little faith as does the film.

Secondly, the woman who anoints Jesus. Mark (14:3-9) has the woman simply pouring the ointment over Jesus's head. Matthew's account (6:13) follows suit. But Luke does not have her anoint Jesus' head at all (other it mentions Simon's failure to do so suggesting that Mark's version - or someone else's - is at least at the back of his mind. Note also the way the name of "The Pharisee" suddenly becomes "Simon" when Jesus starts talking in 7:40), just his feet. Neither does John who ignores Jesus's host altogether. In the film, it's is Luke's most vivid account which the scene most closely resembles.

Finally, the Triumphal Entry scene actually shows Jesus with two donkeys, one of which is presumably the colt, only mentioned in Matthew as he attempts to link the event with Zechariah 9:9. Again it is the most visually full version of the story, that is filmed. Although it's not something I generally take not of, I can't think of another film that is quite so literal on this point, although I would be interested to re-watch the same incident from Pasolini's and the Visual Bible's version of Matthew in that respect.

Dayasagar / Karunamayudu (1978)

One of the most common criticisms of films about Jesus is that he has never been portrayed by a Jewish actor. In fact the vast majority of pictures made about Christ have starred a white European/North American actor in the central role. Some, such as Johnny Cash/Robert Elfstrom's The Gospel Road even portray, an Anglo-Saxon ultra-blond Jesus. There are signs that the tide is turning. This year has seen the release of the first major film to feature a black actor playing Jesus, albeit in a modernised version of the story in Mark Dornford-May's Sundance Festival hit Son of Man. Hot on its heels is the forthcoming Color of the Cross.

However, whilst we wait, there is one Jesus film that has, at least, cast an actor from the right continent. Known by many names including Daya Sagar, Oceans of Mercy, Karunamoorthy, and Karunamayudu the film is largely unknown in the west and yet has played to 19 million people in thousands of villages in India. The film owes this large audience largely down to missionary organisation Dayspring International. They claim 7 million have become Christians as a result.¹

The film was actually completed by Indian producer Vijay Chandar in 1978, using largely Indian actors. Whilst not technically a Bollywood film (in the way that not all American cinema is technically "Hollywood"), there are clear stylistic similarities to other works of Indian Cinema.

Chandar himself played Jesus, and his portrayal, particularly given depictions of Jesus in American films of the time, is strong. He is believable both when he smiles, and when he is angry. A strong sense of compassion comes across in a number of scenes, without him ever appearing wimpy, or tediously "nice".

The film also gives him a healthy balance of humanity and divinity. Whilst the film doesn't strive to investigate Jesus's emotions or his inner thoughts, it does portray him as someone who is in touch with the people around him, reacting and interacting with the people around him, rather than being emotionally distant. There are some notable exceptions when we see Jesus teaching high above his audience. However, these scenes are balanced with those of him amongst the people. One of these even starts with him teaching from high up, but stopping his preaching to come down to the bottom of the hill they are on and heal a leper. Across the film, this balance marks Chandar's Jesus out as both a man of the people, and yet still someone who is important and has something to say. He draws people to himself to hear his vital message.

In order to stress the divinity of Jesus, and the supernatural nature of many of the events around him, the film uses a considerable number of special effects. To western viewers these might seem cheaply created, poorly executed and somewhat kitschy, particularly in the days of seamless CGI. In particular the "dove" that alights on Jesus's head is laugh-out-loud awful. However, whilst they lack the gloss, and the sophistication of American films, their clunky execution emphasises the otherness of these events. They are extra-ordinary. Furthermore, given that this film is not created for western audiences such criticisms, whilst certainly having some validity, are not so problematic for the intended audience. It should be noted as well that many other films about the life of Jesus have either minimised the number of miracles, kept supernatural elements off-screen, or shown them in a more naturalistic style, perhaps relying on cuts.

The other aspect that may seem strange to western viewers are the dance/musical numbers. Whilst singing is hardly alien to the Jesus film genre (Jesus Christ Superstar, Godspell) those films are predominantly musical. Here however, there are only a couple of such routines. Often in Indian Cinema western viewers find the songs cut completely across the feel of the rest of the movie; The sound is differently produced from the rest of the film, and previously serious and intense characters burst into song and dance.

Actually though, this is not the case with Dayasagar. There are only two song routines which are two of the film's high points. The opening sequence covers Jesus's birth and childhood, with skilful brevity which captures the essentials without bogging the story down in pseudo-piety. The sequence takes only 5-10 minutes, and yet covers all the essential elements of the story. The second song/dance routine covers Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This was perhaps the strongest scene in Jewison's Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), no doubt because of the way the setting of the biblical episode lends itself to a large chorus scene. Here the scene is spectacular. Whilst it could never be argues that this was how it really happened, it captures the feel of that episode wonderfully.

The film also bears comparison with a number of other American Jesus films, in particular Day of Triumph (1954), and King of Kings (1961). All three films devote a portion of their runtime to the Zealots, their clashes with Rome, and their plans to use Jesus to further their own aims. Each film also shows Judas associated with the Zealots, yet being initially attracted to Jesus, before ultimately getting disillusioned with the path of peace he is taking and betraying him in the hope it will cause him to rise up. Given that this film was made only around 30 years after a peaceful Indian leader had managed to free his people from the oppression of a foreign empire there must have been a number of strong resonances in these scenes for Indian audiences. It is perhaps no coincidence that the film also challenges the caste system.

So, whilst at times the production values are a far cry from contemporary western cinema, Dayasagar has much to offer, not least because the gap between its intended/original audience and the events which it depicts are narrower than for any other Jesus film.²


1 - Joshua Newton - "Blockbuster Evangelism" in Christianity Today - December 2003.
2 - This, of course, does not take into consideration those films which try to bring Jesus up-to-date into a modern western context.

Bollywood Jesus

This Easter, I was surprised when watching Channel 4's The Passion: Films, Faith & Fury that they covered one Jesus film I had never heard of. Dayasagar, also known as Daya Sagar, Oceans of Mercy, Karunamoorthy, Karunamayudu and no doubt a number of other titles was made in 1978/1985 using Hindi actors and crew. Unfortunately, I've very little knowledge of the Indian Film Industry in general (other than the fact it's the second biggest film industry in the world), and the distinctives of Bollywood specifically.

Anyway, I finally got hold of a copy in the post, and hope to watch it soon, and offer some thoughts here. However, there are a few articles around to read about the film which, thus far, has mainly been used for evangelism, (almost entirely inside India). The film is distributed in India by Dayspring International and they have a couple of articles on the film, including a "documentary" which features a couple of clips from the film. There's also a useful article at Christianity Today , and it has it's own website of sorts

I've already had a few people contacting me to ask if I know where you can buy a DVD. There are one or two places, most notably indiaplaza.com. There's also an IMDb page which has very little information at the moment other than the filming locations which included Calcutta and Mumbai. There's also a few notes on the film at expressindia.com (under the heading "God Speed") including the following.

Produced by Radha Chitra, in collaboration with Amruthrani Communications and Day Spring and CBN (USA), it's directed by Dr Vijaya Chander who also plays Christ. Earlier, he had also done a Telugu film on Christ called Karunamayudu in 1978...Dharmesh Tiwari, Suresh Chatural, Girija Shankar, Sana, Ashwini Kalsikar play key roles in this epic which is also being dubbed in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu.

Finally, there will be a paper given on the film at the Fifth International Conference on Media, Religion, and Culture by Dwight Friesen called "Karunamayudu: A Vision of Jesus in Indian Cinema".