Tales from Toonpur

“Tradition and mythology is the bestselling combination for a film,especially animation,” says Rayudu,showing off his Rs 25 crore budget project which is being made in 2D and will be released in July in English,Hindi,Telugu and Tamil along with,of course,a load of merchandise for children. “Post Roadside Romeo,the budgets for animation films have increased in India,as has the interest. It is now time to concentrate on our market and create our own content and characters,” says Rayadu.

A larger-than-life film,Lava Kusa is based on the Ramayana and tells the story of the eponymous twins,their birth and their adventures at Sage Valmiki’s hermitage. Dhavala Satyam is the director of the film and Vindu Dara Singh has lent his voice for Hanuman’s character while Arun Govil,who played the lead in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan,is Ram’s voice in this animation.

Meanwhile,Krishna Desai,Director,Programming,South Asia,Turner International India Pvt Ltd,explains the craze for animation,“What children find boring in school,an animated feature can transform into something of interest.” Adding that Indian mythology must be packaged anew,he points out that his company has to its credit Chhota Bheem and Kumbh Karan on Pogo. Kumbh Karan,a TV series which began earlier this month,features the escapades of identical twins Kumbh and Karan. Kumbh,named after the demonic giant from the Ramayan,loves to eat and sleep while Karan is like his namesake from the Mahabharata.

The world of Krish,Trish & Baltiboy,also on Pogo,just as colourful. Acquired from the Children’s Film Society Of India (CFSI) and produced by Graphiti Multimedia,Krish,Trish & Baltiboy weaves a compelling array of stories based on Indian folklore. Nandita Das,Chairperson,CFSI,promises that more films like Krish,Trish and Baltiboy are in the pipeline.

Time to spin a yarn.