BENGALURU: What does it mean to truly see the world? Is vision limited to what the eyes perceive, or can people without physical sight sometimes see humanity more clearly? These questions form the core of Earth Angels, a feature film by filmmaker John Devaraj that brings together around 60 visually impaired actors in a story about love, peace, innocence, conflict and human compassion.
The film follows Aman and Shanthi, two visually impaired children who grow up together in a residential school. Their world is shaped by sound, touch, music and imagination rather than sight. As they grow older, their friendship develops into love. Their lives change when they gain sight.
The world they had imagined through sound and touch suddenly takes shape before their eyes. But along with its colours and beauty, they are confronted with violence and conflict, forcing them to question the world they had longed to see.
“I was looking at the world and asking myself, what is wrong with this world? There is war everywhere,” said Devaraj, who directed and wrote the film and also worked on its music and songs.
Devaraj said he found that the visually impaired accept their disability without allowing it to define their lives. “I realised that they are not defeated by it. They are funny and honest and They are not looking for pity,” he said.
Around 60 visually impaired people participated in the film, including Varun, Lishan, Darshan, Venkitesh and Poornima. For many of them, acting was a new experience. They underwent eight months of training, spending around four hours a day preparing for their roles.
Varun said the story reflects the hopes and aspirations of visually impaired people. “This movie is not only about peace, but also about hopes and dreams of visually challenged people. It tells us that we can do anything,” he said.
The film takes Aman and Shanthi beyond their world of love and companionship and into a landscape of conflict. Devaraj uses green-screen and visual storytelling to place the characters in a war setting, with Gaza among the references used.
Rather than showing graphic violence, the film focuses on how the children respond to what they encounter. Their confusion becomes central to the larger question the film raises: what is the value of seeing if the world one finally sees is filled with conflict?
Devaraj, however, does not attempt to provide a definitive answer. “I am not trying to give any solution. I want people to think,” he said.
Music forms an important part of the film, with songs, rhythm, voice and movement woven into the narrative. Devaraj wrote the songs and worked on the music, while the visually impaired actors also contributed to the dialogues.
Earth Angels has been made in both Kannada and English, with the two versions shot separately. A recurring donkey motif represents liberation, drawing from the Biblical story of Mary, Joseph and Jesus fleeing to Egypt.
Produced by Artists United, the film is crowd-funded. The makers plan to use funds raised through screenings to support the health and education of visually impaired. The film is being taken to schools and colleges as part of its social-awareness effort, with Devaraj hoping to convey its message to a younger generation.
Earth Angels turns the idea of sight into a larger question about humanity. Its characters begin by experiencing the world without physical vision, only to discover that seeing it does not necessarily mean understanding it. Perhaps that is what Devaraj wants the audience to carry out of the film, not an answer, but a question about what it truly means to see.