Walking Athanasius, son of Nikitin In the middle of the last century, India, which finally received the right to be called an independent state, actively began to establish friendship with major fighters of the world political arena. And here in the USSR just came the post-Stalin thaw, thanks to which already in the 55th Khrushchev with a pure heart roared his famous "bhai-bhai" from the rostrum and the two peoples began to brag to each other about cultural achievements. Having won Russian hearts with films by Raj Kapoor and the company, the Indians were happy to take the idea of a joint film. The choice of the creative council fell on the travel notes of the merchant Athanasius Nikitin, five centuries before that almost the first European to visit the Indian lands. And in 1957, the world saw the film “Walking across three seas”.
The notes of Athanasius are not only an important historical and cultural monument, but also a curious adventure book, in many ways reminiscent of classic works of the genre like The Man Who Wanted to Be a King. Very carefully treated the content of the literary source (albeit slightly changing it for the sake of greater entertainment), filmmakers at the same time turned an uncomplicated story in style and essence into a lush lyro-epic work, quite pathetically raising many ethical issues. The unsuccessful merchant, who went across nine lands to find out how profitable a trading partner India can be, appears in the film as a kind of embodiment of humanity and patriotism, which is torn apart by an irrepressible vagrant spirit.
Through many kilometers of roads and years of wandering, through happiness and deprivation, through love and hatred, the “son of Nikitin” carries in his heart the unquenchable flame of faith in the human race. His naively sublime image, amusingly emphasized by the deliberate "shining" Volga reprimand, has little in common with realistic heroes (although is it worth to blame the authors for this, if almost nothing is known about the prototype itself?). And the whole film looks more like a semi-fabulous romantic fantasy based on past events than an authentic biographical canvas – especially when you pay attention to the ease with which all the characters communicate with each other, as if forgetting that they speak different languages. The golden-haired broad-shouldered merchant with clear eyes and a noble soul appears as a kind of fusion of epic Sadko and Lawrence of Arabia, and his adventures are somewhat reminiscent of Sinbad’s voyages, a sailor, minus fantastic details. It is difficult today to take such a hero and his story seriously - but it is shameful not to be filled with pride for such a compatriot.
The film was created by an international team, and it is difficult to say what was more in the film adaptation: Indian or Russian. However, the project participants unanimously acknowledged that the main character on the set was a director from the Bollywood side - Khoja Ahmad Abbas. A well-known writer and philosopher, an associate of Jawaharlal Nehru, he led the process not only in his homeland, but also in the USSR, confidently relegating Vasily Pronin to the background, about whom few people remember in the documentary notes about the creation of “Walking”. Oleg Strizhenov, who played the role of Nikitin - and, incidentally, received it only thanks to Abbas - in his memoirs emphasizes that the ethical component of the film, embodied in the image of Athanasius, is actually a reflection of the views of the Indian director himself, who is confident that humanity and kindness should be stronger than national and caste differences.
Separately in the tape is worth noting the religious line. Despite the militant atheism of the Khrushchev period, the Tver wanderer here is reverently devout and stressed unwavering in his loyalty to God. But, besides, from the book source, Athanasius’ tolerance for foreign beliefs, the recognition of each person’s right to profess those values that are dear to him, migrated here. This also reflected the humanitarian message of Abbas, who was not afraid to saturate his creation with such a sensitive issue in terms of interethnic interaction. Through the mouths of a Russian merchant and his South Asian friend-singer Sakarama, the author conveys to the public a very simple, but therefore no less important truth: the essence is not in what confession a person belongs to or does not belong to. The main thing is that he himself should follow the path of goodness and justice and be able to show this road to others.
This film adaptation has become a significant event for both powers, and there is even a feeling that it is more significant for India. If from our side, in addition to Strizhenov, especially loud names in the list of performers is not observed, then the producers there attracted a whole galaxy of their first actors to the shooting: here and the founder of the most influential Indian cynical clan Prithviraj Kapoor, and one of their main stars of the 50s Nargis, and an outstanding dancer Padmini ... The Asian power did not stint on large-scale scenes, and on the most beautiful scenery, which, together with talented camera work, turns the picture into a feast for the eyes. And, of course, traditional Indian songs and mass dances, revealing the character of the characters, now and then meet Athanasius on his journey through overseas cities and villages. The land of elephants and spices tried to create a very positive and lush image here, and he quite succeeded, given the subsequent admiration of the Soviet audience.
For the USSR, it was also one of the first widescreen products of the cinematography. Only a year earlier appeared “Ilya Muromets” – the first full-length feature film in this format. Colorful, exciting and epic film canvas turned out to be a milestone for the twin countries, both technically, culturally and politically. However, the powers managed this legacy differently. In Russia, viewers know “Walking” as a full-color two-part epic of two and a half hours long – and even in it, the torn edges of editing scissors are constantly noticeable, bringing some confusion to what is happening on the screen. What then can be said about the Indian version, if it was released in the local rental only in monochrome version, one and a half times shorter than ours and about any large-format there is no question. Perhaps it is worth thanking those who managed to save for us a good copy of the film, which is pleasant to see.
And watching “Walking across the three seas” is really nice, and useful. Even as a fairy tale in the spirit of the works of Ptushko or Rowe, no one claims fundamental historicism here. Remarkable from a visual point of view, this picture is full of simple, but always relevant morality. And relevant not only for children who look at the world with wide open trusting eyes, but also for adults who like to call the truth “truth” and safely forget about it. One can only hope that the ironic smile will not prevent the modern viewer from imbuing himself with the beauty and naive depth of this hymn with the research spirit and universal humanism.