The last time that someone tried to portray the life of Bodhidharma, the 5th Century medical and martial artiste who became an iconic figure in China, was A. R. Murugadoss in his Tamil film 7am Arivu in 2011. The film received mixed reviews.
Now Neerja director Ram Madhvani is all set to make a web series on this ancient enigmatic figure. Elaborating on what is known about his subject, Ram explains, “Not much is known about Bodhidharma. He was a Tamil philosopher, healer and martial arts disciple who acquired godlike status when he migrated to China. At first, he was looked on with suspicion and distrust by the locals in China. Then he gradually won their hearts with his skills, wisdom and art, so much so that they didn’t want him to leave China.”
Ram is yet to decide who will play Bodhidharma. “In all likelihood, we are going to cast newcomers in the series, as we don’t want audiences to approach the drama with any pre-conceived ideas,” he adds.
The director is having a blast experimenting with new mediums of filmmaking. He says, “It is very liberating to try out yet another format of filmmaking. I’ve made ads and feature films. Now I am trying out a web series.” He adds that the best part about the web series is that he gets to collaborate with best talent in the industry.
