Our journey
Virtual Bharat was envisioned with the intention to seek out stories that often remain unseen and unheard. Founded by filmmaker Bharatbala (known for Vande Mataram – Maa Tujhe Salaam), the idea slowly grew into an evolving collection of a thousand short films, each film narrating the story of a single fragment of India’s lived reality. Over the years, a young team of storytellers, equipped with the most evolved and advanced filmmaking technology, has travelled deep into India with Bharatbala, documenting hundreds of stories of art, culture, history, and ancestral wisdom, often in places and communities that rarely find a voice, face or representation. The stories that are narrated are contemporary in voice, have a modern outlook while retaining ancient India’s true colours. What has emerged so far is not just a body of work, but a living, growing effort that continues to preserve and carry forward the many inheritances that shape who we are, even as the journey moves forward.
Our Vision
To create the largest digital repository of human stories. #IndiaOnTheCloud
Our Mission
Engage, educate and entertain young minds with contemporary, experiential, knowledge-led content that preserves, upholds, and builds India’s diverse cultural wealth and wisdom.
Create grassroots cultural impact.
The Creator
Simple emotions and grand canvases mark the working style of this Chennai (India) born filmmaker. A person who breathes life into his visuals through real places and people, Bharatbala tells Indian stories with a universal sensibility. Having grown up on a diet of international cinema, Bharatbala was deeply influenced by the works of David Lean, David Lynch and Bimal Roy. An indefatigable worker, Bharatbala has a penchant for finding his stories in the most exotic locations across the Indian subcontinent.
His first film Hari Om premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival 2004 and travelled the globe to over 35 international festivals, winning 8 people’s choice awards. He then went on to make his critically acclaimed second film, Maryan, starring actors Dhanush and Parvathy.
He is the first person in India to have worked on the IMAX format, producing Aishwarya Rai starrer, Taj Mahal. He is known for “Vande Mataram”, a big idea for India that took the world of film communication by storm and stands as an example of the director’s grand vision that materialised into a very successful cinematic endeavour. His other celebrated projects include, “Gurus of Peace”, a docu-feature on the Nobel Peace prize winners, Dalai Lama, Shimon Peres, Nelson Mandela, and more; Incredible India, and the National Anthem with 50 of India’s musical maestros, including Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Lata Mangeshkar and Jagjit Singh. He is also the mastermind behind the conception and direction of the opening and closing ceremonies of Commonwealth Games 2010.
Bharatbala’s most recent endeavour Virtual Bharat, a series of 1,000 films on untold human stories of India, premiered in August 2019. The stories are under 10-minute films, spanning people, landscapes, literature, folklore, dance, music, traditions, architecture, and more.
Our Vision
Virtual Bharat is a digital vault of India’s diverse culture. The intention is to have a cultural exchange enabled by experimental content. To have film makers, editors, writers and sound designers all come together to tell a story with an open space. Turning into a complete creative Adda of collaborative talent that aids creative innovation in the new digital space. The mission is to preserve wisdom, make culture relevant and inspire change via content that entertains and educates.