Kolkata, 1st September 2024: Sagar Pictures Entertainment, in association with the Manav Ekta Mission, proudly presents the Kolkata premiere of the award-winning documentary ‘Walking With M’ on August 31, at the Priya Cinema Hall in Kolkata.
The screening was followed by an interaction on the documentary with Sri M and Akash Chopra.
The documentary, 7 years in the making, is made with over 1800 hours of archival footage, and is a cinematic marvel directed by Akash Sagar Chopra.
The 1hr 37min feature, unveiled the monumental journey of Padmabhushan Awardee and Best-Selling Author Sri M, as he embarked on an epic 7,500-kilometer odyssey across India, traversing 11 states from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. At its core, “Walking With M” embodies the indomitable spirit of humanity and traces the story behind one man’s unfathomable attempt to ignite a flame of hope and peace in a world gripped by turmoil.
The Walk of Hope 2015-2016, over 15 months, is now hailed as the longest peace march in the history of India. Led by of Sri M, Mumtaz Ali (recipient of the Padmabhushan award in 2020) an Indian spiritual author, educationist, and an advocate for peace, The Walk of Hope or the Asha Yatra marks an arduous journey of 80 travelers who tried to bridge the chasms of discord across India, with the singular aim of bringing the diversity of India together.
At its core, “Walking With M” embodies the indomitable spirit of humanity and traces the story behind one man’s unfathomable attempt to ignite a flame of hope and peace in a world gripped by turmoil.
The Walk of Hope captivated the hearts of millions in India and abroad who joined the movement over a period of 16 transformative months in the year 2015-16.
Sri M said, “Covering over 7,500km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, we traversed through diverse villages, towns and cities where we learnt a lot. More than what we could share, we ourselves discovered the true essence of Bharat— which we realised is truly united at its heart.”
“Our attempt with this documentary is to give everyone an opportunity to be part of this transformative 7500km journey and witness an unseen movement of global history while exploring the diverse, beautiful, and everchanging landscape of India.” – said the Director, Akash Sagar Chopra.
Sagar Pictures Entertainment announced that all proceedings from this film and its collections going forward will be donated to the cause of Manav Ekta Mission.
‘Walking With M’ has garnered international acclaim, with a successful run across 8 European countries, screening at a diverse “community film festival” circuit to reach as many communities as possible. The film has also won several accolades such as Winner of Best Documentary at Film Fest International (Berlin FFI) 2023, Winner of the Global Peace Award at The International Film Festival The Hague, as well as nominations for Best Director of a Documentary, Historical Interest Award, and Best Editing of a Documentary.
The documentary has also been recognized at prestigious film festivals including the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival, Scandinavian International Film Awards, Stockholm City Film Festival, Paradise Film Festival in Budapest, Film South Asia in Nepal and the Swedish International Film Festival, where it was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement Best Documentary Feature Length award.
‘Walking With M’ is now scheduled to have multiple screenings across many Indian cities and educational institutes, and Sagar Pictures Entertainment is already in talks with distribution partners for a worldwide release.
About the film: Walking with M, follows the monumental journey of Padmabhushan Awardee and Best-Selling Author Sri M, as he embarked on an epic 7,500-kilometer odyssey across India, traversing 11 states from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. At its core, “Walking With M” embodies the indomitable spirit of humanity and traces the story behind one man’s unfathomable attempt to ignite a flame of hope and peace in a world gripped by turmoil.
-OdishaAge
