Dulquer Salmaan and AR Rahman back Bharatbala's Thaalam

Dulquer Salmaan and composer AR Rahman have come together to support filmmaker Bharatbala's new short film, Thaalam, which is first of a collective project featuring 1000 short films titled Virtual Bharat. 

The Virtual Bharat initiative was launched with the intention of showcasing the various aspects of India's diverse culture. Rahman has previously collaborated with Bharatbala on the now popular song Vande Mataram.

Narrated by Rahman, Thaalam revolves around the boat races that take place in the backwaters of Kerala. Rahman shared the video with the note, "Presenting Thaalam: The Rhythm of a nation. A powerful film set in the Kerala boat races, about finding our rhythm as a nation. Created by Bharatbala. Thaalam is India on a boat."

Elaborating on the same, Rahman said, "At the boat races of Kerala, not one man is a professional athlete, in fact, they are like you and me, fishermen, farmers, postmen, shopkeepers, school teachers. To row as one, they need more than just speed and talent. They need to find the Thaalam. What is Thaalam? It is a foundation of music, a message for all, a heartbeat, a rhythm. Imagine India on a boat."

"The boat is only as strong as the people in it," Rahman continued. "The power to win is not in any one person, but when all of us come together as one, one effort and one goal. To move forward as a nation is to dream, aspire together and to build together. Let us find our Thaalam, as a nation together." 

Sharing the video, Dulquer said, "I am so proud to present 'Thaalam: The Rhythm of a Nation'! Set in our very own chundan vallam (snake boat) races, Thaalam is a film about how 150 men on a boat from all walks of life find their Thaalam and row together! It is a message from all of us in Kerala to all our brothers and sisters across our great nation to row in rhythm together!"

Speaking about the impetus behind the initiative, Bharatbala said: "Some tell me Indians don't find India cool anymore; some tell me that the India we loved is no more; some tell me we don't feel for India anymore. I don't have the answers to all that... I found plenty to be proud of. I found simple human stories that want to be told — that deserve to be told. I hope we will make them our own, one story at a time, starting August 28."