Fairytale Buddha There is a real Buddha, there is a legendary Buddha. The first is Sidhartha Gautama Shakyamuni, a historical figure who lived almost 6 centuries before the beginning of the Christian era. He created one of the greatest philosophical teachings and the only developed world religion known to mankind without God. The second, the legendary Buddha, was the first person to achieve the highest degree of self-improvement and self-realization, teaching others to live in harmony with the flesh and spirit. He is the only Buddha in the numerous pantheon whose title is capitalized as the first person to break the bonds of samsara and go into nirvana. But this silent film, which is a unique German-Indian project and a hybrid offspring of two completely different cultures, does not represent the life of either the real or the legendary Buddha. It tells about the fabulous Indian Prince Sidhartha Gautam. After all, this film is not based on historical data or Buddhist religious texts, but on the poem of the same name by Edwin Arnold, which absorbed echoes of myths and legends associated with the legendary founder of Buddhism, mixed with poetic author’s fantasy. Most of the film is about Gautama the Prince. His luxurious life in his father’s richest palace. All kinds of joys, fun and entertainment, which were filled every day of his crowned life, as well as the love between Gautama and his young beautiful wife – Gopa. The life of the ascetic and the life as an enlightened and prophesying sage is only devoted to the last 20 minutes of the film. And in them, Gautama is shown only as a kind of holy ascetic, and not at all as a Buddha, who by the greatness of his spiritual perfection surpassed all Hindu gods.
The filming involved real majestic temple and palace interiors. No decorations were required. Maharaja Jaipura himself made available to the film crew his entire palace, surrounding parks and gardens, hunting grounds, and all his domesticated and wild animals. Hundreds of extras were involved in the embodiment of grandiose scenes by the standards of their time wedding procession, royal procession, going to the people, royal hunting. Even the modern, spoiled by film effects, the viewer is unlikely to remain indifferent to the fragment of the competitions of noble suitors from the Kshatriya varna for the right to receive the hand of the beautiful Maharani. Surprisingly poetic shows Gopa’s love for her husband, her true, fully consistent with the spirit of Indian traditions, devotion and dedication, readiness to be with him always and everywhere, in joy and trouble, in luxury and poverty. Very young, almost still a child Sita Devi, embodied the image of Gopa on the screen, so tenderly and touchingly conveyed the character of her heroine that the feat of a faithful wife seems no less, and perhaps even more important than all the spiritual quests of her husband. After all, Europeans, brought up from childhood in the spirit and canon of Christianity, could not fully understand the great spiritual power of the ancient Eastern religion, which was still exotic for them. So they came out instead of a majestic story of the spirit just a tale of love. But the fairy tale is very beautiful and pure in its youthful naivety.