Neha Lohia -woman filmmaker from India shines light onthe subject of inequality with her new film Yashodhara the Buddha’s Wife; both via the portrayal of the protagonist of her film and as a brown female identifying director and filmmaker to present Indian roots via a film in foreign land* She is also representing the country and is honoured to host the block titled “Voices of India” at this prestigious film festival which has been offering a strong platform to radicalnew voices and revolutionary filmmakers from across the globe for over a decade.
The 12th Annual Queens World Film Festival (QWFF) runs in person for 6 days in 5 venues from November 1-6, 2022Screening 157 films from 27 nations. Neha’s film is part of this festival and will be showcased as part of Voices of India. “Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife is my passion project” says Writer, Director, Producer and filmmaker Neha Lohia.
Neha Lohia, a ground breaking Indian Filmmaker is churning out some thought provoking and meaningful global cinema. She is one of the very few young Indian Filmmakers who has glorified the Indian flag on international soil. As a Brown girl Neha feels accepted and received globally, she happens to be one of the few film makers who is slowly garnering a niche class of cosmopolitan fan following for her work and the compelling, heart-touching stories she says.
“Yashodhara- The Buddha’s Wife” is the result of her long and interesting journey of exploring spirituality, eastern philosophy, and deeper relational understating while parallelly serving various studios and departments in the entertainment industry. After an amazing welcome received by the 12th Annual Queens World Film FestivalDirectors, Board and Jury in New York, “Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife”, will give a glimpse on the lesser known aspect from Buddha’s life, his wife Yashodhara and her role as a woman who also suffered, also got enlightened, and was a figure of extreme compassion, one who personified love. “We all know of the Buddha but how many of us know of the wife and the child he left behind on the night of his child birth because he wanted to go seek enlightenment. This the story of Yashodhara, the Buddha’s wife. He left, she stayed. He came back enlightened after 12 years only to realise so did she! Partake of this long pending healing conversation and witness this intense, intimate, epic tale of love, loss and suffering which became a portal to both their enlightening” *explains Lohia*
There is an incredible amalgamation of talent from the world that came together for this project. The music of this film has happened in 5 different parts of the world with a Shamanic track from a Shaman singer based in Hungary, a licensed title track from Andrea Scarsi and Sandesh from Germany, recreation of Raga Shivaranjani on flute by RK Bikramjit Singh from Pune India, a fresh new chant written by neha, composed by Shyamlala from Arunachala India and sung by Sanjukta Sen from New York, the overall sound edit has been done by Vera Manuel in Argentina.
The film is shot in historic Chinese Scholar’s Garden at Snug Harbor in Staten Island and at Central Park in Manhattan with tremendous support from the local teams and crew members from New York, Zambia, India and Spain. The lead actors of the film are both Americans with Spanish, and Peruvian roots. “This short film has truly been a global melting pot bringing so many cultures and people together to bring it to life in today’s time and I am beyond grateful for all the support. “Buddha had a wife? Is something that I am often asked when I speak of this project to any one and it just make me reaffirm my reason to say this story as this woman is truly gone unsung in the pages of history who was the only one standing when all the men chose to leave following footsteps of Siddhartha and all that was left behind was a grieving kingdom filled with women, children and ageing people, all suffering!” Do we really need to suffer a lot to enlighten? Does suffering have to always be corelated with pain? How can we call it sacrifice if it were all done for love and with love? teary-eyed *neha* said. She further adds: “Yashodhara the Buddha’s Wife is a project of lifetime for me. This is one of those stories that have been in the hiding for thousands of years and it just needs to be told especially today with relationships are collapsing, the dating today break-up tomorrow phenomenon, increasing number of divorces, unhealed relational dynamics shouting all around us in a fragile society where nearly everyone is moving around with wounded hearts forgetting we are far more connected to each other than we think we are! This epic feminine compassionate figure, Yashodhara, has been part of my personal healing journey for over 8+ years. I have been researching her, Buddhism, the role of women, mythology, and historic data for 6+ years and it has taken me to many places and got me access to resources from many learned people on the subject of relational healing, and the path of love. I wish to make this project into a massive episodic WEB/TV Series, a movie series and a book as well in the times to come with all that I have collated and really take the audiences back to that era and that time, the royalty, the culture, music, art, the epic scale of this beginning of the beginning. This short film is a proof of concept that shows 1 scene from the heart wrenching and enlightening life of Queen Yashodhara. I hope it stirs open an enquiry about this epic character, what really happened back then and lets the world see this story for the first time from her eyes and perhaps I will one day make the epic saga that I want to if it’s meant to happen through me.
As a young female filmmaker who is heart-centered and full of ideas, Neha Lohia aims to venture into unexplored realms of film making by experimenting with new themes and subjects. Her stories often raise questions that she is asking too and there by opening a portal of perspective to open and shine light on those topics.She envisions delving in to revolutionary and untrammelled areas and thus be able to discover and witness her inner self using the limitless possibilities and scope of cinema.
Neha is a multi-passionate creator. Filmmaker, entrepreneur, author, and a commercial artist with over 18 years of storytelling background in the illustrious Advertising, Hollywood, and Bollywood industries, she takes on multifaceted roles as producer, director, and marketeer on projects and has garnered several accolades for her contributions. She is originally from India and is currently based in New York City. She loves Directing, Producing & Filming original content, short films, web series, features, advertising, socialand cultural content and anything that is creatively calling, spiritually nourishing, and healing. She is beyond excited and thrilled at the potential of storytelling and its capacity to help heal wounds of lifetimes, bring people together, open hearts and raise consciousness.
You can see her short film Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife live on Nov 4, 2022 at the historic Flushing Town Hall in Queens New York or you can see it as part of the virtual festival from anywhere in the world on film festival flix. The details of her film and tickets to the festival are available here:
Yashodhara The Buddha’s Wife, a film by Neha Lohia premieres at the 12th Annual Queens World Film Festival in Queens, New York
