Why We Are Making The Face of God

Somewhere in the old streets of Jaipur, every year, a man puts on the face of a god.

And something changes.

He is no longer just a performer. He surrenders himself to the character, to the story, to the faith that has been passed down through generations. For those few moments, the line between the man and the god he portrays begins to disappear.

That is where our film begins.

I am Pragya Rathore, the Producer, and Nandini Mittal, a visual artist and filmmaker, is the Director. Together, we are making The Face of God, a documentary on Narsingh Leela, one of Jaipur's extraordinary living traditions.

What drew us to this wasn't just the spectacle of the Leela. It was the idea of surrender.

What does it mean to completely give yourself to something you believe in? What happens to a person when faith takes over performance? And can a mask become so powerful that the person behind it disappears?

These are the questions we are trying to explore through this film.

Nandini comes from the walled city of Jaipur and has grown up around the visual language, streets and stories of the old city. As an artist, she was immediately drawn to the physical transformation of the performers, but also to what lies underneath it.

I have spent years producing films and working with filmmakers and stories that I believe deserve to be seen. For me, this film became about protecting something that is still alive, rather than waiting until it becomes something we only remember.

And then there is the music.

We didn't want the music of this film to simply sit underneath the images.

We wanted it to feel like another layer of the tradition.

We are working with members of the Manganiyar community, with Hanifa ji, Jakir and Niyaz bringing their musical traditions into the film. Our Music Producer is Aikarth Purohit, known for his work on The Sabarmati Report.

Together, we are trying to create a soundscape that feels rooted in Rajasthan while carrying the emotional and spiritual journey of the film.

Why We Are Crowdfunding

We are raising ₹10,00,000 to complete The Face of God and give it the journey we believe it deserves.

The money will help us with post production, sound and colour finishing, professional festival deliverables, festival submissions, publicity and taking the film to national and international festivals and cultural screenings.

But this is not just about making another documentary.

We are documenting a living tradition while it is still alive.

We want to capture the people, the faith, the surrender, the music, the streets and that extraordinary moment when a performer puts on a mask and becomes something beyond himself.

And we want to take that experience from the streets of Jaipur to audiences around the world.

If this story moves you, become a part of it.

A contribution of ₹500, ₹1,000 or ₹5,000 may seem small on its own. But when enough people believe that our living heritage deserves to be remembered, it becomes something much bigger.

Help us preserve The Face of God while it is still alive.

Help us preserve Narsingh Leela, Jaipur’s living heritage, through a powerful documentary and take its story to audiences worldwide.