Varanasi Beyond Life – A Short Film By Aeyaz Hasn

 A Short Film On Varanasi by Aeyaz Hasn: Varanasi Beyond Life

No matter how many time you visit Varanasi / Benaras / Kashi your heart longs to visit more. For the eternal city has a pull that has no logical explanation. From being the City of Shiva to welcoming Buddha ( who by the way referred to Varanasi as the ancient city 2500 years ago !!!). I have been to Varanasi a few times & I don’t think I have even explored leave aside understood the essence of Varanasi. While my next trip is planned soon, I try to do as much research about what is happening in Varanasi as possible.

So recently I came across this short film on Varanasi by Aeyaz Hasn, who is a Dubai-based VFX artist and a filmmaker. The movie though less than 4 minutes long takes you through some gripping visuals with the narration of Alan Watts’ quotes in the background taking you through the relationship that Varanasi has with  Life and Death. The filmmaker tries to explore the very delicate subject with graphic visuals but that is not all. He also takes you through the life on Ghats, the famous evening Arti of Varanasi, the rituals the pilgrims basically everything you relate to Varanasi yet in his own style. I was actually amazed that though movie at times moves at a slow pace but still accomplishes a lot in less than 4 minutes.

But rather than me giving you gyan about Varanasi, let us hear  from the filmmaker Aeyaz himself

Aeyaz Hasn on his short film Varanasi Beyond Life

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Varanasi, The spiritual capital of India – a place where people come from all over the country to breathe their last, and immerse the ashes in the holy Ganges for the beginning of a new life. A visit to Varanasi has always been in my bucket list, and being able to film there was like an icing on the cake.
Honestly, words fail to describe what I have seen while on this epic trip with Photowalk Dubai. No wonder Varanasi is called the “City of Life”. Simply love this place. And this is my attempt to give you a sense of what it was like to experience the amazing “Varanasi” and the mysterious vicious cycle of life and death…
“Varanasi – Beyond Life” – A personal project shot, edited and directed by me. Have put my heart and soul into it.
Enjoy. Like. Share!!!

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Varanasi // Beyond Life from Aeyaz on Vimeo.

 

I hope you enjoyed watching the film.

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About the Film Maker Aeyaz Hasn

I am Ayas. An aspiring filmmaker from India currently settled in Dubai and trying my hands on cinematic travel and documentary films. Apart from filming, I’m a VFX artist. I work as the head of CG at Dejavu, a film production company based in Dubai Media City.

I have always been passionate about camera and related gears. Recently got inspired from few travel films seen on the internet and decided to try my hands on filming. Good results and appreciation from few people motivated me to take up filming seriously.

My dream of traveling to Varanasi came true when Photowalk Dubai announced their workshop along with APF. Though I knew that it was a photography workshop, I still decided to be a part of the event, because what you learn in terms of composition from the workshop could also be applied in videography.

On my shooting process, I’m very improvisational and tend to do very little prep before shooting. I also don’t shoot a lot, but finish what I started and make work public. When I shoot, I will have a sort of checklist in my mind. I make sure I have enough content to create a story and flow. Apart from the shoot, I also edit and color grade all my films.

In terms of gear, I use easy and lightweight Sony A7s which has made life so much easier. I can stick almost any lens to it, shoot from day to night without worrying about low light performance. Great for run-and-gun all with clear and sharp images.

My goal is to create visually stunning short films with great production quality with an absolutely minimal crew and cheap gears.”

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You can follow more of Aeyaz’s work here

Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Website 

Other posts in Varanasi series on desi Traveler are here

Morning Boat Ride in Varanasi

Evening Aarti on Dashasvamedh Ghat Varanasi

Bansphatak Flower Market Varanasi

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