Blending spirituality and storytelling

With Secrets of the Buddha Relics focusing on Gautam Buddha’s last months, host Manoj and makers share how they didn’t take sombre route for spirituality docu

With the Secrets series, creator Neeraj Pandey, host Manoj Bajpayee and director Raghav Jairath wanted to shatter the notion that documentaries are boring. The trio successfully did that with Secrets of Sinauli: Discovery of the Century (2021) and Secrets of the Koh-i-noor (2022). Now, they are back with Secrets of the Buddha Relics. The discovery+ offering focuses on Gautam Buddha’s  last months and unravels the relics that are at the epicentre of Buddhism. 
The director says that after extensive research, they narrowed the material down to 15 talking points. “We all know about Buddha’s life and teachings. [We wanted to show] what led to the discovery of the relics.”  

Jairath and Pandey

Bajpayee admits that not too long ago, he was among those who found documentaries taxing. “While we watched many documentaries, the format was taxing. Here, Neeraj and Raghav have not only extensively researched on the subjects, but also made the series captivating,” says the actor, adding that the team decided to adopt a spiritual tone. The catch then was to balance spirituality with storytelling. “In going spiritual, there was a chance one could go sombre. We had to pitch it right. [The story was] about someone who left everything to become a saint at a young age. That interested me.” 

Pandey, who has 20 years of filmmaking behind him, enjoys creating non-fiction shows. He reasons, “Unlike fiction, which is scripted, here you are learning. So, it’s a humbling experience.”

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