At
the
77th
Republic
Day
Parade,
the
Ministry
of
Information
and
Broadcasting,
in
collaboration
with
celebrated
filmmaker
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali,
presented
a
special
tableau
under
the
theme
Bharat
Gatha,
marking
a
historic
moment
for
Indian
cinema
on
the
national
stage.
As
the
tableau
moved
down
Kartavya
Path
on
January
26,
it
marked
a
significant
milestone
–
the
first
time
an
Indian
film
director
represented
Indian
cinema
at
the
nation’s
most
prestigious
ceremonial
event.
The
tableau
positioned
cinema
within
India’s
larger
storytelling
tradition,
celebrating
it
as
a
medium
capable
of
carrying
timeless
Indian
stories
to
audiences
across
the
world.
Curated
under
Bharat
Gatha,
the
tableau
presents
cinema
not
merely
as
an
art
form
or
entertainment
medium,
but
as
a
powerful
extension
of
India’s
age-old
tradition
of
narrating
stories
–
a
tradition
that
has
travelled
from
folklore
and
epics
to
theatre,
music,
and
finally
to
the
global
language
of
cinema.
Within
Bharat
Gatha,
cinema
finds
representation
as
a
medium
that
carries
Indian
stories,
values,
and
emotions
across
generations
and
geographies.
Speaking
on
the
occasion,
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
said,
“I
felt
deeply
honoured
to
represent
Indian
cinema
and
the
creator
community
at
the
Republic
Day
Parade
under
the
theme
Bharat
Gatha.
Co-creating
this
tableau
with
the
Ministry
of
Information
&
Broadcasting
was
a
tribute
to
India’s
timeless
stories
and
the
power
of
cinema
to
retell
them.
It
reflects
the
Hon’ble
Prime
Minister
Shri
Narendra
Modi
ji’s
vision
of
taking
Indian
storytelling
to
the
world
and
celebrating
cinema
as
one
of
India’s
strongest
cultural
voices.”
Bhansali’s
presence
was
widely
seen
as
a
fitting
choice
–
a
rare
filmmaker
of
this
era
who
carries
forward
the
legacy
of
cinematic
pioneers
such
as
Raj
Kapoor,
V.
Shantaram,
and
Mehboob
Khan.
In
today’s
cinematic
landscape,
he
stands
as
a
storyteller
whose
work
embodies
scale,
rootedness,
and
cultural
gravitas.
Through
Bharat
Gatha,
the
Republic
Day
Parade
reaffirmed
cinema’s
place
within
India’s
civilisational
storytelling
continuum
–
a
modern
medium
carrying
the
soul
of
timeless
Indian
narratives
to
the
world.