The story of a brave heart- Lt. Col Ajit V Bhandarkar, Shaurya Chakra

The film, which is team MAYA’s labour of love, was shot in the same places where Lt. Col. Bhandarkar served his tenure and died

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: “The SAGA of a Brave heart”, a documentary film, had an open and free screening on December 27th evening at the Bangalore International Centre. Following the film's screening, Ms Maya Chandra and Mrs. Shakunthala Ajit Bhandarkar discussed about the film and how it was produced. The evening following the screening had a Q&A session screening.

The “Saga of a Brave heart” is a documentary that was inspired by a book by the same name, and the true life account of Lt. Col. Ajit V. Bhandarkar, Shaurya Chakra, who gave his life on October 30, 1999, while encountering terrorists in the Poonch district's Faisalabad. The film, which is team MAYA’s labour of love, was shot in the same places where Lt. Col. Bhandarkar served his tenure and died.

Lt Col Bhandarkar, was born in Mumbai on December 31, 1960, attended the Bjiapur Sainik School before moving on to the National Defence Academy (NDA) and the Indian Military Academy (IMA). Lt. Col. Bhandarkar was commissioned in the Madras Regiment and was killed on October 30, 1999, during a counter-insurgency operation against terrorists in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir near Faisalabad.

“People now enjoy safe lives”, said Commander Mahesh Nagesh Nayak (retired Indian Navy), adding, “This is due to the supreme sacrifices made by individuals like Lt Col Bhandarkar. Mrs Shakunthala Ajit Bhandarkar has done her Masters in English, B.Ed. and a diploma in Counselling.

Apart from this, she has also done a certification from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore on ‘Nurturing Creativity and Excellence’ and has recently completed a course on ‘Strategic Leadership for Schools in a Changing Environment’ from IIM Ahmedabad. She has three decades of experience as an educator, mentor and counsellor. Currently, she is working as an Academic Consultant and an Instructional Designer for educational institutions.

To commemorate the sixtieth birth anniversary of Lt Col Ajit V Bhandarkar, SC and their thirtieth wedding anniversary, Mrs Shakunthala Ajit Bhandarkar took the initiative to write this book titled “The SAGA of a Braveheart-Lt Col Ajith V Bhandarkar, Shaurya Chakra”, being her maiden effort. Maya Chandra, a seasoned film producer with over 25 years of experience in the field, joined in for a discussion on the film, post screening.

Maya Chandra founded MAYA, which offers endto-end services for video film production and is outfitted with the state-of-the art equipment. MAYA has worked on a wide range of fields and developed ground-breaking trends in the communication between the government and the healthcare industry.

As part of the company's ethos of utilising the power of video for creating awareness, sensitising about our culture and heritage, national pride, and patriotism, she has worked on a variety of socially relevant topics like the armed forces, organ donation, rare diseases, special needs children, and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Many young Indians can get inspired by the “Saga of a Braveheart” to learn about a man and his family's life and the things they did solely for the purpose of serving our country and carrying out their duty