Deewana, the animated music video which won India its first annecy earlier this year, has become the hot thing at the International festival circuit.
Created by Ad makers Flirting Vision,the highly acclaimed Deewana is in for yet another round of applause, with many more bouquets to follow.
Amongst the festivals that the animated video has been showcased are Annecy, SICAF and the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris.
In the offing is a string of screenings at Animasia – Korea, The Canarias Mediafest – Spain; Cine Junior -France; All Roads Film Festival, National Geographic -USA.
As news of Deewana being selected for a special screening at the Best of SICAF came in, Flirting Vision Directors Benaifer Mallik and Rajiv Rajamani shared their excitement with Animation ‘xpress.
A visibly motivated Rajiv had a very timely message for all those treading the lesser taken path of originality in Indian animation. He exclaimed, “Once there is a good idea followed by efficient and meticulous execution, then the recognition always follows.”
“There is a lot of interest in Indian culture in the West, especially the joie-de vivre of Bollywood. We tried to project a ‘kitschy’, colourful look to the video. The creative idea of the video (based on Indian Miniature Paintings) drew upon elements from Indian culture contemporarised to give it an international appeal, a fact that was most certainly appreciated by the jury.” he shared.
Speaking her bit for creativity in animation Benaifer commented, “Though India has become a preferred destination for animation production offshoring, its potential as a source of creative ideas remains to be tapped”
Bageshree Vaze a singer and dancer from Canada. approached Flirting Vision to make a music video for her. The team which was busy with their Ad films saw this a different and refreshing creative excercise, an opportunity to explore different ways of expressing the theme and content of Vaze’s video.
The award winning animation work was done by Shrirang Sathye, Suhael and Mehul who meticulously worked for 10 weeks meticulously detailing out the intricately painted backdrops and designs, which are a unique feature of Indian miniature paintings.
Shrirang and Suhael have been together in the business of animation for the last fifteen years and have won many national awards for commercials like Cibaca Toothpaste, Bata Bubblegummers shoes, Red Label tea etc.
“This was one of our first efforts at animating a music video and we’re glad it’s paid off!” said a beaming Shrirang.
“Luckily both Benaifer and Rajiv gave us complete freedom in deciding the funny gags that take place as the over weight royal tries to get the girl!” he added.
It was one of the most interesting and fun projects we’ve worked on”, chipped in Suhael.
“Made at a cost of only Rs 700,000, the video took a total of 3.5 months from concept to delivery. Binod Pradhan (DOP of international repute) agreed to work gratis. Shrirang and Suhail also worked on shoestring budget to make it all possible. We didn’t compromise on any aspect of production due to budget constraints including styling and costumes.”informed Rajamani.
“Cory Walia did the make-up. Kunal Dhabuwala and Suman David worked on compositing the sequences online and creating interesting patterns for the chorus section that were inspired by traditional Raas Leela paintings. We worked out an econmical package with Tarusha media services for the online composting work. Everyone involved in the project gave their best since they all loved the idea.” he added.
“The storyline is about a courtesan trying to keep her royal suitor at bay. The highlights of the video include the kitschy, contemproary art look with the fusion of elements such as the Toronto Sklyline with Indian court scenes and Bollywood gyrations with Ice Hockey. The video frequently featured on Channel V, CMM and MTV. Bageshree, the artiste was adjudged MTV ‘ubharta sitara’.
Deewana was the first time India won at Annecy. Doyen of Indian animation Ram Mohan who was present at the awards said that, “There was a standing ovation for the film unlike other films where only the respective supporters from that country applauded.”
Need anything more be said in favor of original Indian animation!
