'VM Frames' national filmmaking contest marks 150 years of Vande Mataram

The Ministry of Culture is running a national filmmaking competition titled 'VM Frames' (Vande Mataram Frames) to mark 150 years of the national song. The competition was launched in late March 2026 and was reiterated through Ministry communication on 22 April 2026 to keep awareness high; entries are open until 7 May 2026. Vande Mataram was first composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875 and later included in his novel Anandamath; the song was adopted as the national song of India by the Constituent Assembly on 24 January 1950.

VM Frames invites filmmakers and citizens aged 15 and above to interpret the spirit of the national song through three formats: Reels of up to one minute for digital platforms, AI-driven films of three to five minutes that use artificial intelligence in animation, sound or post-production, and short films. Entries are encouraged to focus on people, places and incidents tied to the freedom struggle and lesser-known stories around Vande Mataram.

Total prize money is up to Rs 50 lakh. In the Reels category, the top three prizes are Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000. AI films carry awards of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh, while the short-film category offers Rs 15 lakh, Rs 12 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for the top three. The competition is part of a wider commemoration that will run through 2025-26.

Exam angle: Remember that Vande Mataram was written in 1875 by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, appeared in Anandamath (1882), was first sung by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress, and was adopted as the national song on 24 January 1950. UPSC and SSC frequently test the difference between the national song (Vande Mataram) and the national anthem (Jana Gana Mana, adopted on 24 January 1950).