Shemaroo Entertainment’s ‘Bal Ganesh’ won the award for the ‘Best Animated Film’ & the ‘Best Animated Character’.

What’s interesting is that of the other nominees in these two categories, ‘Ghatothkach -Master of Magic’ was also a Shemaroo production, whereas ‘Return of Hanuman’ and ‘Dashavatar’ though produced by Percept Picture Co. and Anushvi Productions respectively, are being distributed by Shemaroo.

The trio comprising of Rohit, Avinash and Akhila review a different movie every few weeks and their podcasts can be downloaded from their blog twoandahalfiyers.blogspot.com. This is their very first review of an animated film and though their podcasts can get quite lengthy, I highly recommend them.

Their reviews are witty, tongue-in-cheek and well-rounded, covering every aspect- right from the story, the cast (for live-action films) to the direction and the film-making itself.

A preview…

“This week, the Two and a Half Iyers investigate the curious incident of the dogs in the night-time. Jugal Hansraj’s directorial debut is India’s first big-budget-anthrophmorphic-talking-animal-bollywood-extravaganza, Roadside Romeo.”

Download the podcast here.

It is encouraging to see our young artists observe, analyze, express and discuss their views and use the internet to share them with the world. I wish them all the best!

Thanks Akhila, Avinash and Rohit for sharing the podcast with AAA and for mentioning AAA on your blog.

Roadside Romeo, Laila and Charlie Anna

Before you jump to any conclusion, let me clarify that I’m talking about movie merchandise here. The highly anticipated, first ever feature-length 3D animated Indian film may not have set the cash registers ringing or earned too many fans, but a tie-up between YashRaj Films and HomeShop18 will allow you to own a range of specially designed ‘Roadside Romeo’ products including a special bed sheet with dazzling images from the movie, branded Water bottles, tiffin boxes, CD cases, pencil boxes, mugs and notebooks.

HomeShop18 promises free home delivery in 1700+ cities and all the products come with added benefit of cash on delivery. They are already promoting the merchandise throughout the day on their TV channel and all though this is their first tie up for an animated film, they have already had other Bollywood tie-ups for two movies prior to this, namely Drona and Love Story 2050.

Merchandising seems the only salvation for Indian animated films as they stand today for multiple reasons. So far, none of the animated films made in India have been able to really set the box office on fire, not even Hanuman with all his might and power. The makers of Hanuman 1 recovered their costs almost solely through the sale of merchandise and not from the sale of tickets or DVDs. One must keep in mind that Hanuman was still a lovable and familiar character that appealed to children. One cannot say the same about Romeo and Laila though.

While Indians flock to the theatres to watch a Disney, Pixar or a Dreamworks film, our own film-makers have failed to win over audiences. Worse still, audiences in India (and very often, the film-makers themselves!!) are still confused about animation itself - is it meant for kids or adults?

Besides, the quality of animation in our films - and there is no other way to say this - sucks! We have some brilliant animated advertising commercials being animated here. But when it comes to a full-length or even a short animated film, we fail miserably, time and again, on both levels - story-telling as well as the animation itself.

Another big stumbling block is the budget itself. While a live-action “star” can earn in Crores for just one film, budgets for animated films are far less than that! More on that in another blog.

Many more animated films are in the pipeline. Many of them announced in haste. It would help the film-makers to keep in mind that Bad Film = Low Earnings. Unless and until the quality of Indian Feature animation and story-telling improves, the only revenue option for Indian animation film-makers is going to be merchandising, which is just a by-product of the actual film. You make a great film, merchandise will sell anyway. One cannot compromise on the film quality and then expect the merchandise to recover your investment!

Until now the only truly ‘artistic’ animated films from India that I had seen were either independent films or student films from institutes such as NID and IDC (IIT). But large scale productions have always fallen short at some level. Maybe it was the lack of vision, time, patience, knowledge or perhaps all of these. It can’t be budgetary constraints - an individual superstar’s fees for a single Bollywood movie can fund an entire animated film! But Arnab Chaudhuri, the man at the helm of Arjun, surely knows what he is doing. An alumnus of the National Institute of Design and ex-Turner Creative Director, he seems to have what it takes to do justice to the story and the medium.

The animation style appears to be a combination of 2D and 3D - the final look and feel is of 2D animation but the fabric, the water and the movements of the characters are distinctly 3D. The film is reminiscent of Disney’s Prince of Egypt while Arjun could easily be the long-lost brother of Tarzan! The script writers seem to have taken a few liberties with the story but that is what great story-telling is about; retelling an age-old tale and embellishing it with one’s own visual interpretation.

This is the second Indian animated film that holds a lot of promise, after Yash Raj Film’s Roadside Romeo, which is an out and out 3D animated feature. I am looking forward to both of them and so is the entire Indian animation community. The Indian audiences have got a raw deal from some haughty, talent-less so-called animation film makers - a case in point being the makers of the recent ‘Icy n Spicy’, who thankfully got the boot from the audience! Roadside Romeo and Arjun should more than make up for it and once and for all dispel the myth that Indian animation lacks talent and vision when it comes to original IP productions. Until the movie releases, enjoy the trailer

Don’t believe me? Read this news report on Pritish Nandy Communications’ latest venture - animated remakes of three Shakti Samanta golden oldies - Howrah Bridge, Amar Prem and Barsaat Ki Ek Raat.

Pritish Nandy announced, “This is my homage to one of the most underrated filmmakers of the country. When I met Mr. Samanta, he was so pleased to know his films would reach out to a new generation. Howrah Bridge is one of my favourite noire films. The magic of Sachin Dev Burman’s music, the chemistry between Ashok Kumar and Madhubala and the seductive charm of Ashok Kumar’s baritone….all that I want to capture in animation form.”

It is a noble thought but reach out to a new generation? How? Just by converting it into an animated film? I don’t think so. The story needs to lend itself to the medium. Capture the magic in ‘animation form’? Animation by itself is not going to be able to add value to these films. There has to be a better justification for rehashing stories meant for a very different kind of audience than the current one that thrives on hard-core action, flashy dances and slapstick humour. No doubt, the movies were masterpieces in their time but modern audiences have an extremely short attention span. The beauty of animation lies in its ability to paint in front of your eyes those images which can not otherwise be captured with a camera. Animation is about conveying fantasy through a visual medium, and exagerating reality. I fail to understand how any form of animation can do justice to the solemn lovestory in Amar Prem or the black n white thriller Howrah Bridge, let alone Barsaat Ki Ek Raat which didn’t even do well when it was first released!

PNC will not only pay a homage to the Bengali mellow-dramatist but also to the immortal melodies of Sachin and his son Rahul Dev Burman in the cinema of Shakti Samanta. We’ll be hearing the animated characters sing songs like ‘Aaiye Meherbaan’ in Howrah Bridge, ‘Yeh Kya Hua’ and ‘Raina Beeti Jaaye’ in Amar Prem and ‘Apne Pyar Ke Sapne’ in Barsaat Ki Ek Raat. Explains Mr Nandy, “We’ll have the original music from these films. But we’ll also have re-mix version of the originals side by side.”

Huh?!!

Almost makes me want the mytho-animations back! Really, for the sake of Indian animators, I do hope that Roadside Romeo will turn all these stereo-types on their heads and give us a reason to rejoice. This Diwali we will find out and until then I am keeping my fingers crossed.

It’s been a long time since I last blogged but this frightening piece of news brought me back from my brief blog hiatus. Apparently, India’s First 3D Mainstream Animation Movie is about to be released on 18th July. It’s called Icy N Spicy - A Journey to Tonga and is produced and directed by Anil Goyal, “a most experience person in the field of 3d animation” (that’s what his website claims). You only need to take a look at the stills from the movie (see below) to know why it is something we all need to seriously worry about.

Until now, I have written about various Indian animated films to watch out for. Brilliant stories, outstanding visuals, hard-working Indian animators, studios with vision. Kutti Chetan, Cheenti Cheenti Bang Bang, Little Pandavas… and many more. But this absurdly named film - Icy N Spicy - is so pathetic, it shouldn’t even be released!

I haven’t seen anything as juvenile as this in a long, long time. I had to pinch myself several times over to make sure it wasn’t a bad nightmare that I was having. I don’t know what “advanced technologies and software” (again, their claim!) they have used to create the film but by all means, the character design is as primitive as could possibly be. I think even the freshest of animation students do a better job. As seen in many of the recent Indian animated releases, the stills and promo pictures are often far superior to the final animated film. Going by the appalling quality of the stills of “Icy n Spicy”, I dread to think of what the actual film might be like. They haven’t even spared the Disney “D” by incorporating it into their poster.

It is indeed a very sad state of affairs that talentless people are getting funded and absolute rubbish is being touted with the “India” sticker on it. You even have some of the best mainstream singers lending their voices to this film and from the publicity write-ups, it seems like this film will get worldwide release. What astounds me is that the film has been written about in several leading publications all over India. Makes me think, is it just a matter of paying a fee to get oneself written about in the Indian Press? Just goes to show the wonders a good PR company can do for you.

In the rush to make India’s First 3D Mainstream Animation Movie, the creators have overlooked everything from story to character design to quality. Like frogs in a well, clueless about the world outside, their site is full of praise for the film, oblivious to the fact that it makes them look even more ridiculous. They are only going to make a fool of themselves. In their race to be first and win accolades, they will flush India’s reputation in the animation industry down the drain!

On one hand you have a lot of Indian studios and production houses creating fabulous films - features, shorts and advertisements. They have put in years of hard work into their creations. We even have international studios shaking hands with Indian ones, impressed by their quality of animation. And here, you have a delusional company that is touting first generation animation as India’s best!

Nothing about the film is original. Neither the story nor the characters. The boy and girl protagonists look like they have severe physical disabilities. Their mentor, Gantoo, is yet another take on Lord Ganesh (ho hum!) and the villain is an extremely unoriginal and unimpressive derivative of the time-tested character of a djinn. The backgrounds are worse than the ones in early games that we played on our PCs. They claim they will create history. Yes, I’m sure they will - as the one shoddy film that destroyed the reputation of Indian animation.

Just so that you do not think this scathing review is unnecessary, here are a few more stills from the film. You decide whether or not my rant is justified.

If you have still not fainted with fright, please join me in my prayer…

For the sake of Indian animation and of all the talented, aspiring Indian animators, I fervently pray that this film never sees the light of day. And if it does, I hope our audiences evince their intelligence by booing the makers all the way back to their drawing boards.

If you still have the stomach for more such horrors, please visit the Icy N Spicy website but be warned, you are doing so at your own risk!

Last night, CNN IBN had a special interview with Dhimant Vyas and it will be screened today as well at 2:30 pm IST on the CNN IBN channel. Dhimant certainly deserves the accolades he is receiving for this mini-masterpiece that kids and adults alike have found fascinating. Here is the link to the CNN IBN video interview:

Interview with Dhimant Vyas on CNN IBN

Also read…

The AAA interview with Dhimant Vyas on the making of TZP’s clay animation and photos.

Hear it from the maker himself…

Dhimant Vyas talks exclusively to All About Animation

and shares photos from Taare Zameen Par’s clay animation sequences.

See the Photos

Read the Interview

AAA - First of all, congratulations on being the first animator to use Clay animation in a Bollywood live-action feature film. How has the response been?
Dhimant - Yes, the response is overwhelming and very positive!! Thanks to Aamir for choosing the clay animation style. It is a craft with a human touch to it so it also tugs at the audience’s heartstrings. It works well with the main film because the story needed this kind of feel to it. The scenes depict Ishaan, the main protagonist’s imagination so the transitions had to be smooth scene and convey the dream-like quality. we used transitions like morphs, camera moves, elements appearing and disappearing, or you have one element dragging you to anther scene, so there is not cut till the end. And you do not realize when the three minutes pass by.

AAA - How did this project come about?
Dhimant - I had created the caricatures for the Lagaan DVD (Special Anniversary Edition Three Disc DVD box) I had shown Aamir some of my work which he had really appreciated. So when he decided to use animation for TZP, he approached me. Aamir initially wanted to use the classical animation style with a painterly quality. I suggested we try the clay animation technique. I showed him some samples. He liked it a lot and we decided to go ahead with clay animation.

AAA - Why clay animation?
Dhimant  - Aamir showed me the completed film and we discussed the use of animation. The sequences where we planned to use animation were mostly dream sequences, where the boy is lost in his own world of fantasy. There are a lot of transitions from one fantasy to the other. Aamir did not want to use human characters in the animation. He wanted elements from nature - fish, animals, birds, plants, flowers and so on. I created a few samples for him of which he liked the clay animation the best. There is a certain tactile quality to this technique. As children, all of us have played with plastecine or modelling clay and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. There is an organic feel to the medium which is not achievable through computer generated animation. Clay is something that everyone can relate to it easily.

AAA - But the animation doesn’t come across as ‘childish’ in the film as it is film about children.
Dhimant - No. Aamir made it very clear that though it is part of the protagonist child’s imagination, there must be no childishness to the animation. He wanted a beautiful and polished effect which we tried our best to deliver. The elements are bright and colourful, just the way a child’s world is but it flows smoothly into the story. It is not animation just for the sake of animating something. There is a purpose and that is to carry the story forward. It is a subtle way of giving the audience a glimpse into the child’s inner world and the animation captures that perfectly.

AAA - Aamir is known to be a hard task master. How has the experience of working with him been?
Dhimant  - Aamir’s thinking is crystal clear. He knows what he is looking for and conveys it exactly. It is up to us to realize his vision. He is a perfectionist but at the same time he respected my knowledge and experience with clay animation. He gave me full freedom, only giving his inputs from time to time but leaving the responsibility of the work squarely on my shoulders. Having the director’s trust in your ability is vital.

AAA - Who came up with the concept for the animated sequences?
Dhimant - I visualized the entire sequence. I first presented a couple of concepts to Aamir which we discussed and finalized before beginning the actual animation. We had a very narrow deadline of a month and a half to complete the entire animation from concept to modeling to execution and compositing. I showed Aamir the storyboards. We removed some elements, added a few others. It was an enjoyable process. I had 3 model makers working with me including Arvind Chudasama. The cinematography and lighting was done by Satya Prakash Rath who has worked on stop motion projects before so he has the experience to handle this kind of work.

AAA - There is some cel animation and CG animation as well in the movie?
Dhimant - Yes. Vaibhav Kumaresh’s Vaibhav studios handled the 2D animation while Tata Elxsi worked on the CG animation as well as the visual effects and compositing besides putting credits on the sequence and adding some effects in my clay animation sequence. The 3 teams were working simultaneously but in isolation from each other. Aamir and his production team were the contact points.

AAA - Tell us about the technique.
Dhimant - I use my own technique which I like to call embossed clay illustration. It is different from typical clay animation, as the clay figures don’t stand upright but are laid out flat on a smooth surface. It is technically easlier to animate in this manner as it requires less planning than when armatures are used. Light is used to give the almost 2D surface the look and feel of a three dimensional one. The illusion of depth comes from the play of light and shadows. But the light has to be planned carefully or else it will throw unnecessary shadows. This steals the volume. So the challenge is in creating a model that looks three dimensional under the camera. You have to cheat a lot. When you look at the model by itself, its shape looks odd but when looked at through the camera lens, it is perfect. The camera is set up to film the animation from the top. We used 2 cameras - a web cam to check the animation frame by frame and another Canon digital SLR for capturing the final hi-res stills.

AAA - This is a technique you have developed on your own?
Dhimant  - Yes. I haven’t seen anyone else use this technique. This is just the third time that I have attempted to use it. Before this I had tried a few clay illustrations for my own work and later to create “Happy Planet”.

AAA - What other challenges did you face during animation?
Dhimant - A very important thing while animating is to be able to maintain correct timing. Each element has a different speed and a unique style of motion. Sometimes, one shot has 20 to 25 items moving. For example, there was a scene with 2 groups of fish. One small mistake means everything needs to be redone. To add to that, there was a very tight deadline. But timing is something that you learn with experience. There were no cuts in the 3 minute sequence. Sometimes we used morphs, other times there were pans, but the flow is always continous. It was physically stressful but creatively most satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed animating it.

AAA - Tell us about the title sequence.
Dhimant - The title where the name of the film Taare Zameen Par morphs from English to Hindi to Urdu, the movement of the octopus, fish and parrot was shot against a blue, red and then a green screen placed under the glass. The team at Tata Elxsi composited those shots.

AAA - Could you please share some clay animation tips and tricks with us?
Dhimant - Sure. For certain scenes, instead of modeling directly on the table, we made replacements beforehand and used them to speed up the actual animation process. But in other scenes, like in the scene where the peacock turns into a flower, we had to sculpt on the table. Everything was animated on one layer rather than multiple glass layers as is generally used for this technique. We left very little work for post-production. Only the bee’s and bird’s wings were created using Photoshop. The scene where the Hippos is entering the water also needed to be done differently.

AAA - What about the music and the soundtrack?
Dhimant - Luckily the music was superimposed later or else it might have been even more tedious to animate.

AAA - What else would you like to tell our readers?
Dhimant - Work very hard and have a passion for the work that you do - it could be anything. Enjoy your work, don’t just think about the money, it will follow if you do your best. Keep your eyes open and try to learn new things, experiment, try to be perfect and stick to your deadlines. Love your work and teach others! I think that is a lot of advice. Bahut ho gaya!!  Enjoy the movie on the big screen.

Remember, you saw it here first!!

Stop motion animation veteran, Dhimant Vyas and Aamir Khan Productions have generously shared photos of the making of the Clay Animation sequences from Taare Zameen Par.

Also read the exclusive interview with Dhimant Vyas where he explains the technique he used to animate these sequences and chats with us about his experience of animating for a Bollywood film for the first time ever. Taare Zameen Par or ‘TZP’ has made Bollywood history by being the first Hindi film to extensively use clay animation in the movie.

All the images below are copyright protected. Please DO NOT use them without prior permission. If you want to use the images or extracts from the interview, email us first.

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