Kulashekharapattinam, Tamil Nadu.
It is the night before Dussehra. The night Shakti the ancient feminine energy, destroys all darkness.
20 year old Tamizhmaaran has just emerged from 40 days of penance. He is painting his skin blue. Along with him tens of thousands of devotees paint themselves too. They prepare to surrender to an ancient energy.
Deep in this coastal village of Tamil Nadu millions gather on this day. They bring their pain, they bring their cha llenges, they bring their penance, they bring their faith. They come to kill their demons.To do this they must transform. They must become The Goddess.
They paint their skins and become her many incarnations. They will then submit to a trance of body shaking rhythm, to ancient chakral energy.After a night of chaos…and surre nder… they face a brand new morning. A new beginning.Like Tamizhmaaran, over a million devotees visit Kul ashe kara pattinam during the ten days of Dussehra. Surrendering their sins and sorrows to Bhadrakali. The ancient Shakti. Emerging, cleansed by the Goddess.
This is Kulashekharapattinam.
Created by Bharatbala this hypnotic film captures an ancient festival tradition with an incredibly modern edge. Bharatbala says: “What fascinated me is the faith of people and how they find solutions for their personal lives through faith and a deep belief system. It is a filmmaker’s paradise – where every turn brings a whole new world.
