Bringing some BTS behind the making of the much-appreciated documentary The Secrets of Buddha Relics, The Pioneer connects with the director and producer, sharing some insights on the same.Tejal Sinha
Asthiyon Ki Rahasyamayi Khoj—The Secrets of Buddha Relics explores the greatest mystery, which has been streaming on Discovery + Originals, bringing the origins, cultural significance, and mystical tales surrounding the relics of Gautam Buddha. Secrets of the Buddha Relics follows the previous two incredibly successful series, Secrets of Sinauli and Secrets of the Kohinoor. The show, developed by writer/director Neeraj Pandey, produced by Shital Bhatia, co-directed by Raghav Jairath, and hosted by actor Manoj Bajpayee, dives into Gautam Buddha’s final days.
The Pioneer gets on a quick call with the director, Raghav Jairath, and producer, Shital Bhatia, to go through the BTS of making the series. During this, we realised that research was integral to the series and the Secrets franchise.
A three-and-a-half-year research
Raghav Jairath: “After we did the Secrets of Sinoli, we explored other topics and had about 10 research ideas and topics that we were looking at, which takes a great deal of time. For Buddha Relics, we began the research three to three and a half years ago. After that, Neeraj Sir had an extreme closeness to Buddha Relics. He inspired us to work on this documentary. It was just two years before we started our entire focus on this documentary, where we had to start with the original textbooks that were closest to that time. During this, we realised that everybody knows the story of Gautam Buddha’s life, but very few know the story of his last three months. What got us closer to the documentary was the fact that relics had never been formed before this. That took us towards the story, and if you see, in today’s time, Gautam Buddha never travelled in Bihar and never out of India, but you find his sutras and relics all over.”
Being careful of the conflicting views
Shital: “The research on such subjects is extremely difficult and sensitive at the same time because there are so many conflicting views. If you are getting to the bottom of the story, figure out the right way of presenting it because you can easily hurt someone’s sentiments. We have to be extremely careful that we don’t take sides, and we need to bring it out as close to reality as possible.
Raghav: “It was extremely challenging, but we zeroed in on the right experts who have spent enough time on this subject. They are the main ones who have been researching this for the past two to three decades, and so on. Once we spoke to them, they become our guiding force. But there are a lot of conflicting facts because Buddhism in today’s time has three versions. We have different stories. We decided to tell the story that was closest to history.
Creating entertainment vs. factual project
Raghav: Anything factual can be told in an entertaining way. I think conducting research in the right manner is something we have been striving for. You can tell anything in the right manner; you just need to find the right method, and that comes with the right timing and guidance.
Projects like this come with a higher risk
Shital: I’ve never looked at subjects like this as risky or not. We look at content that excites us and tells the story.
A story with an Indian history comes with a great responsibility
Raghav: “You are absolutely right. It is a very big responsibility, and we are constantly checking the facts. People come back to it, the education system starts using it, and a lot of schools have gotten in touch with us from the first documentary itself that we can play in the school’s auditorium. It becomes a very big responsibility for our expert panels, research teams, and the books we use. If you see our history, research has always played an integral part.”
Meanwhile, on the work front, Friday Storytellers will soon be coming out with Special Ops 2, and the duo is starting the shoot of Khaki: The Bengal Chapter. Then, in the second half of this year, they will be coming up with an original digital film called Sikander ka Muqadar and also releasing Auron Main Kahan Dum Thaa.
