Animation movie buffs are in for a treat as a new movie is coming to town. The movie, Mr. Kumaran – Oru Nattukokkinte Selfie , brought out by Hibiscus Digital Media, has Suraj Venjaramoodu in the title role.
The film features cattle egrets residing in the city. They collect garbage and process them into versions of popular fast food. Suraj voices Kumaran, a cattle egret who moves to the city and falls for his boss’ daughter, Chandini. Although the film addresses a serious topic, the environmental issue of loss of habitat and food, it has been dealt with in a light hearted manner.
Says K.S. Madhu, managing director of Hibiscus Digital Media: “The film was inspired by the garbage dump at the Attakulangara bypass. Cattle egrets used to visit and scavenge the dump for food before it was levelled recently. We have videos of it and will be uploading them on YouTube soon.”
Hibiscus is not a new name for those familiar with the Malayalam animation industry. The company’s entry into the animation industry started with ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’, a cartoon show on Kairali TV. The company has gone on to introduce lovable characters such as Twinkle, Pupy and Kathu to many a child.
However, an animation film is a first for them. Says Madhu: “The children’s animation field is rather stagnant now as there are new players. Besides, we wanted to branch out, try something new. Mr. Kumaran – Oru Nattukokkinte Selfie is a movie which will appeal to all in the family.”
Getting the cattle egrets to express emotions was a challenge for the team, says Madhu. “But I think we managed to get it right.”
This is the first time Suraj is lending his voice in an animated movie. Says Suraj: “My family and I are huge fans of Twinkle, Pupy and Kathu. When Hibiscus approached me with the script, I was hooked. It was a satire told in a light hearted way. After watching the film, I too felt I had to do my bit for the environment. It is also perhaps the first Malayalam animation film of such a scale.”
Dubbing for an animation is different from dubbing for a film says the actor. “For a film, one can see the visual of the actor and his lip movement and can dub accordingly. For Mr. Kumaran – Oru Nattukokkinte, Selfie, I had to visualise the scenes based on the description provided. For instance, the director will say, ‘Okay, in this scene Kumaran sees Chandini coming in and talks to her’, I will have to visualise the scene in mind and give the right amount of emotions and intonation to the dialogue.”
The script for the film is by K.S. Manu. Ani Arjunan (son of M.K. Arjunan) has composed the background score, while ‘Kentucky Chicken Fry’, a fast paced song in the film, has been penned by Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma and rendered by Ajay Warrier. Mr. Kumaran – Oru Nattukokkinte Selfie will be premiered on one of the Malayalam channels next month. The teaser for the film is currently available on YouTube.
