Imagine carrying the name ‘Ram’ not on a temple wall, not in a prayer book, but permanently on your own skin.

Not once. Not as a symbol for a festival. But as something that becomes part of your identity for life.

That is what makes the Ramnami community of Chhattisgarh so fascinating. Here, faith is not restricted to temples, rituals or prayers. For many followers, the name of Ram becomes a part of the body, a mark of identity and a tradition passed down through generations.

Now, this extraordinary story of faith, identity and tradition has found a place on one of Indian cinema’s biggest stages.

The documentary ‘Ram-Nami’, which explores the life and traditions of the Ramnami community, has won the Best Documentary award at the 72nd National Film Awards.

At the National Film Awards ceremony held in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, on September 22, President Droupadi Murmu presented the honour to filmmaker Bharatbala Ganapathy. The film received the Rajat Kamal and a cash prize of ₹2 lakh.

But the real story of ‘Ram-Nami’ begins much before the award ceremony.

Because this is not simply the story of a documentary winning a trophy. It is the story of a community that carried its faith so close that it became something they could literally wear on their skin.

Who Are the Ramnami?

The Ramnami community, primarily associated with the plains of Chhattisgarh, is known for its distinctive religious and cultural traditions.

Many members of the community have the word ‘Ram’ tattooed on their bodies. For some, the name appears on the forehead or arms, while for others, large portions of the body carry inscriptions of Ram.

But reducing the tradition to tattoos would mean missing the bigger picture.

For the Ramnami community, the name of Ram represents faith, identity and a way of life.

The body, therefore, becomes more than just a body. It becomes a canvas carrying generations of belief.

How Did the Tradition of Writing Ram on the Body Begin?

The origins of the Ramnami tradition are associated with an incident believed to have taken place around 1890.

According to the community’s traditional account, Parasram Bharadwaj, who belonged to a Dalit community, was denied entry into a temple.

Following the incident, he is said to have inscribed the name ‘Ram’ on his body.

Over time, others adopted the practice as well, and what began as an individual expression of faith evolved into a distinctive community tradition.

The story is therefore also connected to questions of social identity and discrimination, with the name ‘Ram’ becoming a way of asserting faith and identity outside the traditional boundaries of temple access.

At the same time, this historical account is best understood in the context of the tradition and interpretation presented by the community and filmmakers.

‘Ram-Nami’ Looks Beyond the Tattoos

This is where Bharatbala Ganapathy’s documentary takes the story somewhere deeper.

The film does not simply point its camera at the inscriptions on people’s bodies and stop there.

Instead, ‘Ram-Nami’ attempts to understand the people behind those inscriptions.

What does this faith mean to them?

How does it shape their everyday lives?

What does a tradition passed down through generations look like from within the community?

The film enters that world and allows the people themselves to become part of the narrative.

Bharatbala’s interest in the Ramnami community was sparked in part by photographs of the community taken by French photographer Yannick Cormier.

Those images prompted him to travel to Chhattisgarh and meet the people behind them.

And when he began spending time with the community, the goal was not to chase an award.

It was to understand a way of life in which faith had quite literally become part of the skin.

When Faith Becomes Part of Everyday Life

The Ramnami tradition is much more than the practice of getting ‘Ram’ tattooed on the body.

It represents a combination of faith, cultural identity, community memory and tradition.

Generations have changed. Society has changed. The world around the community has changed.

Yet the tradition has continued to carry its own distinctive identity.

That is what gives ‘Ram-Nami’ its emotional depth.

The camera may capture a word written on someone’s skin, but behind those few letters lies an entire history of people, families and generations.

Kailash Kher Gives the Story Its Voice

The documentary also features the contribution of singer Kailash Kher, who has lent his voice to the song ‘Ram Hi Paar Lagayenge’.

Interestingly, his association with the project reportedly began with a conversation at an airport.

The film’s creative team includes cinematographer Sudeep Elamon, music composer and additional vocalist Varkey, editor Christy Sebastian, and colourist Abhijit Devlekar, among other artists and technicians.

Together, they helped shape a cinematic world around a tradition that has existed for generations.

What Did Bharatbala Say After Winning the National Award?

After receiving the National Film Award, Bharatbala Ganapathy looked beyond the trophy itself.

For him, the recognition also belongs to the Ramnami community, whose members allowed the filmmakers into their homes, lives and traditions.

His approach to documentary filmmaking goes beyond simply recording images.

It is about preserving voices, memories and traditions that could otherwise gradually disappear from collective memory.

And perhaps that is what makes the film particularly meaningful—the camera does not simply observe the community; it tries to understand it.

Chhattisgarh Celebrates the Honour

The National Award brought pride and celebration in Chhattisgarh as well.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai congratulated Bharatbala Ganapathy and the entire team behind ‘Ram-Nami’.

He described the recognition as a proud moment for Chhattisgarh and highlighted the distinctive identity of the Ramnami community.

According to his message, the word ‘Ram’ inscribed on the bodies of community members is not merely a set of letters, but a symbol of faith, devotion and dedication carried across generations.

Culture Minister Rajesh Agrawal also congratulated the team and described the honour as recognition not just for a film, but for the cultural tradition of the Ramnami community and the folk heritage of Chhattisgarh.

Finance Minister O.P. Choudhary too extended his congratulations, noting that the documentary has brought national recognition to the culture, traditions and way of life of the Ramnami community.

From Chhattisgarh’s Villages to the National Film Awards Stage

The Ramnami story is not simply about people writing the name of Ram on their bodies.

It is about faith.

It is about identity.

It is about social history.

And it is about a tradition that has survived through generations.

That is why the National Award for ‘Ram-Nami’ feels like something more than a film winning a trophy.

A tradition that has lived for decades in the villages and towns of Chhattisgarh has now travelled to one of Indian cinema’s biggest stages.

And perhaps the most beautiful part of the entire story is this:

A name that people once chose to write on their bodies has now been written into the story of Indian cinema.

What began as faith etched onto skin has travelled through photography, filmmaking and storytelling to reach a national audience.

Ram was written on the body. Now, its story has been etched into the nation’s cinematic memory.