2017
Isha Foundation
Tarini - Rally for Rivers (Isha Foundation)
A visual-poetic music film created for Isha Foundation’s Rally for Rivers campaign, blending Bharatanatyam, VFX, and symbolic storytelling to depict the journey of India’s rivers from birth, through decline, to a final breath of hope.
Music Video
Social Impact
Overview
Produced in 2017 for Isha Foundation, this film was part of the nationwide Rally for Rivers movement led by Sadhguru.
The campaign aimed to raise awareness about the urgent depletion of India’s rivers, many of which have shrunk by nearly 40% since Independence.
To communicate this crisis in a culturally immersive way, the film uses Bharatanatyam, India’s classical dance language; as a metaphorical canvas.
Through a dancer’s silhouette, flowing textures, and elemental visuals, the film traces the emotional arc of a river:
Origin → Purity → Abundance → Degradation → Desperation → Hope
Accompanied by the stirring chant “Nadi Stuti | Bharatam Mahabharatam”, the film was widely shared across social media, becoming one of the campaign’s most iconic creative pieces.
What was the challenge or idea?
The core idea:
Use the dancer’s form as the river itself.
Challenges included:
Representing the entire lifecycle of a river in one poetic sequence
Ensuring the metaphor is powerful but not literal
Seamlessly blending real dance movements with elemental textures
Communicating “death” without making the film dark or disturbing
Creating visual coherence while using diverse elements (fire, water, land, pollution, hands, textures)
Achieving expressive VFX on a controlled budget in 2017
How did Rotten Tree approach it?
We treated the dancer’s silhouette as a living river, an empty vessel through which visuals of landscapes, pollution, water textures, flames, and hands flowed.
Our approach:
1. Bharatanatyam as Visual Language
The dancer’s mudras became metaphors for flow, struggle, and life energy
Movements were choreographed to represent stages of the river’s journey
2. Compositing & VFX Narrative
Water textures for the river’s birth
Lush greens for growth and nurturing
Cracked earth and pollution overlays for distress
Flames and dark textures for degradation
A final shift to blue for hope & renewal
3. Symbolic Hands Motif
Hands reaching toward the dancer represent:
People taking from the river
Exploitation
The gradual choking of a lifeline
4. Clean-colour backgrounds for contrast
The sea-blue and jade-green backgrounds served as a serene stage for dramatic overlays.
The final film becomes a moving mural of India’s rivers, portrayed through the medium of dance.
Impact & Usage
The film was showcased across:
Isha Foundation’s YouTube & social channels
Rally for Rivers official campaign assets
State-level awareness sessions
Environmental movement forums
On-ground screenings during the 7000 km rally
It played a strong role in shaping visual awareness about river depletion, especially among youth audiences.
Rivers in India are not just water bodies, they are living heritage, culture, energy, and identity.
This film helped reconnect people emotionally with rivers, using:
Indigenous art forms
Symbolic storytelling
Visual metaphors
A chant rooted in India’s sacred geography
By blending dance, VFX, and cultural symbolism, it turned an environmental issue into a felt, human experience.
Credits
Client
Isha Foundation
Campaign
Rally for Rivers
Produced & Executed By
Rotten Tree Productions
Concept
Ajinkya Sharma
Direction & Creative Execution
Ajinkya Sharma
Format
Music Video
Dancer
Kanika Saini
Cinematography
Rotten Tree Productions
Post-Production
Rotten Tree Productions
VFX / Compositing
Metaphoric silhouettes and visual compositing
Music / Chant
Nadi Stuti – Rally for Rivers Chant
(Bharatam Mahabharatam)
Trivia
The entire river narrative was told through a single dancer
Composite work included multiple texture layers per shot
Filmed on a minimal studio setup in 2017, digitally transformed entirely in post
Featured in multiple awareness events across the country
Isha Foundation • Rally for Rivers • Bharatanatyam Film • Environmental Awareness • VFX Poetry • Social Impact • Cultural Storytelling • Nadi Stuti • River Conservation
Looking to create culturally rooted, emotionally powerful films for causes that matter? Let’s bring your impact stories to life.
More Works
(RTP® — 02)
FAQ
01
What kind of stories do you work on?
02
I don’t have a clear brief, is that a problem?
03
Do you only do big productions?
04
How involved can I be in the process?
05
What if I want something experimental?
06
How do you charge for projects?
07
Do you travel for shoots?
08
Why the name Rotten Tree?
2017
Isha Foundation
Tarini - Rally for Rivers (Isha Foundation)
A visual-poetic music film created for Isha Foundation’s Rally for Rivers campaign, blending Bharatanatyam, VFX, and symbolic storytelling to depict the journey of India’s rivers from birth, through decline, to a final breath of hope.
Music Video
Social Impact
Overview
Produced in 2017 for Isha Foundation, this film was part of the nationwide Rally for Rivers movement led by Sadhguru.
The campaign aimed to raise awareness about the urgent depletion of India’s rivers, many of which have shrunk by nearly 40% since Independence.
To communicate this crisis in a culturally immersive way, the film uses Bharatanatyam, India’s classical dance language; as a metaphorical canvas.
Through a dancer’s silhouette, flowing textures, and elemental visuals, the film traces the emotional arc of a river:
Origin → Purity → Abundance → Degradation → Desperation → Hope
Accompanied by the stirring chant “Nadi Stuti | Bharatam Mahabharatam”, the film was widely shared across social media, becoming one of the campaign’s most iconic creative pieces.
What was the challenge or idea?
The core idea:
Use the dancer’s form as the river itself.
Challenges included:
Representing the entire lifecycle of a river in one poetic sequence
Ensuring the metaphor is powerful but not literal
Seamlessly blending real dance movements with elemental textures
Communicating “death” without making the film dark or disturbing
Creating visual coherence while using diverse elements (fire, water, land, pollution, hands, textures)
Achieving expressive VFX on a controlled budget in 2017
How did Rotten Tree approach it?
We treated the dancer’s silhouette as a living river, an empty vessel through which visuals of landscapes, pollution, water textures, flames, and hands flowed.
Our approach:
1. Bharatanatyam as Visual Language
The dancer’s mudras became metaphors for flow, struggle, and life energy
Movements were choreographed to represent stages of the river’s journey
2. Compositing & VFX Narrative
Water textures for the river’s birth
Lush greens for growth and nurturing
Cracked earth and pollution overlays for distress
Flames and dark textures for degradation
A final shift to blue for hope & renewal
3. Symbolic Hands Motif
Hands reaching toward the dancer represent:
People taking from the river
Exploitation
The gradual choking of a lifeline
4. Clean-colour backgrounds for contrast
The sea-blue and jade-green backgrounds served as a serene stage for dramatic overlays.
The final film becomes a moving mural of India’s rivers, portrayed through the medium of dance.
Impact & Usage
The film was showcased across:
Isha Foundation’s YouTube & social channels
Rally for Rivers official campaign assets
State-level awareness sessions
Environmental movement forums
On-ground screenings during the 7000 km rally
It played a strong role in shaping visual awareness about river depletion, especially among youth audiences.
Rivers in India are not just water bodies, they are living heritage, culture, energy, and identity.
This film helped reconnect people emotionally with rivers, using:
Indigenous art forms
Symbolic storytelling
Visual metaphors
A chant rooted in India’s sacred geography
By blending dance, VFX, and cultural symbolism, it turned an environmental issue into a felt, human experience.
Credits
Client
Isha Foundation
Campaign
Rally for Rivers
Produced & Executed By
Rotten Tree Productions
Concept
Ajinkya Sharma
Direction & Creative Execution
Ajinkya Sharma
Format
Music Video
Dancer
Kanika Saini
Cinematography
Rotten Tree Productions
Post-Production
Rotten Tree Productions
VFX / Compositing
Metaphoric silhouettes and visual compositing
Music / Chant
Nadi Stuti – Rally for Rivers Chant
(Bharatam Mahabharatam)
Trivia
The entire river narrative was told through a single dancer
Composite work included multiple texture layers per shot
Filmed on a minimal studio setup in 2017, digitally transformed entirely in post
Featured in multiple awareness events across the country
Isha Foundation • Rally for Rivers • Bharatanatyam Film • Environmental Awareness • VFX Poetry • Social Impact • Cultural Storytelling • Nadi Stuti • River Conservation
Looking to create culturally rooted, emotionally powerful films for causes that matter? Let’s bring your impact stories to life.
More Works
(RTP® — 02)
FAQ
01
What kind of stories do you work on?
02
I don’t have a clear brief, is that a problem?
03
Do you only do big productions?
04
How involved can I be in the process?
05
What if I want something experimental?
06
How do you charge for projects?
07
Do you travel for shoots?
08
Why the name Rotten Tree?
2017
Isha Foundation
Tarini - Rally for Rivers (Isha Foundation)
A visual-poetic music film created for Isha Foundation’s Rally for Rivers campaign, blending Bharatanatyam, VFX, and symbolic storytelling to depict the journey of India’s rivers from birth, through decline, to a final breath of hope.
Music Video
Social Impact
Overview
Produced in 2017 for Isha Foundation, this film was part of the nationwide Rally for Rivers movement led by Sadhguru.
The campaign aimed to raise awareness about the urgent depletion of India’s rivers, many of which have shrunk by nearly 40% since Independence.
To communicate this crisis in a culturally immersive way, the film uses Bharatanatyam, India’s classical dance language; as a metaphorical canvas.
Through a dancer’s silhouette, flowing textures, and elemental visuals, the film traces the emotional arc of a river:
Origin → Purity → Abundance → Degradation → Desperation → Hope
Accompanied by the stirring chant “Nadi Stuti | Bharatam Mahabharatam”, the film was widely shared across social media, becoming one of the campaign’s most iconic creative pieces.
What was the challenge or idea?
The core idea:
Use the dancer’s form as the river itself.
Challenges included:
Representing the entire lifecycle of a river in one poetic sequence
Ensuring the metaphor is powerful but not literal
Seamlessly blending real dance movements with elemental textures
Communicating “death” without making the film dark or disturbing
Creating visual coherence while using diverse elements (fire, water, land, pollution, hands, textures)
Achieving expressive VFX on a controlled budget in 2017
How did Rotten Tree approach it?
We treated the dancer’s silhouette as a living river, an empty vessel through which visuals of landscapes, pollution, water textures, flames, and hands flowed.
Our approach:
1. Bharatanatyam as Visual Language
The dancer’s mudras became metaphors for flow, struggle, and life energy
Movements were choreographed to represent stages of the river’s journey
2. Compositing & VFX Narrative
Water textures for the river’s birth
Lush greens for growth and nurturing
Cracked earth and pollution overlays for distress
Flames and dark textures for degradation
A final shift to blue for hope & renewal
3. Symbolic Hands Motif
Hands reaching toward the dancer represent:
People taking from the river
Exploitation
The gradual choking of a lifeline
4. Clean-colour backgrounds for contrast
The sea-blue and jade-green backgrounds served as a serene stage for dramatic overlays.
The final film becomes a moving mural of India’s rivers, portrayed through the medium of dance.
Impact & Usage
The film was showcased across:
Isha Foundation’s YouTube & social channels
Rally for Rivers official campaign assets
State-level awareness sessions
Environmental movement forums
On-ground screenings during the 7000 km rally
It played a strong role in shaping visual awareness about river depletion, especially among youth audiences.
Rivers in India are not just water bodies, they are living heritage, culture, energy, and identity.
This film helped reconnect people emotionally with rivers, using:
Indigenous art forms
Symbolic storytelling
Visual metaphors
A chant rooted in India’s sacred geography
By blending dance, VFX, and cultural symbolism, it turned an environmental issue into a felt, human experience.
Credits
Client
Isha Foundation
Campaign
Rally for Rivers
Produced & Executed By
Rotten Tree Productions
Concept
Ajinkya Sharma
Direction & Creative Execution
Ajinkya Sharma
Format
Music Video
Dancer
Kanika Saini
Cinematography
Rotten Tree Productions
Post-Production
Rotten Tree Productions
VFX / Compositing
Metaphoric silhouettes and visual compositing
Music / Chant
Nadi Stuti – Rally for Rivers Chant
(Bharatam Mahabharatam)
Trivia
The entire river narrative was told through a single dancer
Composite work included multiple texture layers per shot
Filmed on a minimal studio setup in 2017, digitally transformed entirely in post
Featured in multiple awareness events across the country
Isha Foundation • Rally for Rivers • Bharatanatyam Film • Environmental Awareness • VFX Poetry • Social Impact • Cultural Storytelling • Nadi Stuti • River Conservation
Looking to create culturally rooted, emotionally powerful films for causes that matter? Let’s bring your impact stories to life.
More Works
(RTP® — 02)
FAQ
What kind of stories do you work on?
I don’t have a clear brief, is that a problem?
Do you only do big productions?
How involved can I be in the process?
What if I want something experimental?
How do you charge for projects?
Do you travel for shoots?
Why the name Rotten Tree?