“Mythology in animation has been done so badly in India that most people have developed a disinterest – if not an outright negative perception – towards any Indian mythological animation film that now comes out,” says Charuvi Agrawal of Charuvi Design Labs and one cannot quite contradict her, even when she expands her point to cover the Indian animation scene in totality. How many of us would choose Hanuman or Roadside Romeo over Shrek , really? “Most of us in the animation industry have become wary of taking up mythology in particular because many times, the way the subject matter has been portrayed has actually led to deterioration in the way we look upon our own epics,” she adds.
It follows, then, that her Labs’ first studio project, “Shree Hanuman Chalisa” is in part an attempt to put forth a fresh retake on mythology in animation. And it works. The 12-minute short film in a 3D digital format depicts visually the entire Hanuman Chalisa to a beautiful soundtrack that makes for a large part of the impact the film has on the viewers. Begun by Amitabh Bachchan, the track boasts 19 other well known singers such as Sonu Nigam, Udit Narayan, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan and more.
In keeping with the Chalisa, the narrative of the film is not linear and to a great extent assumes prior knowledge of the mythological anecdotes. “Considering that millions of people across the globe recite the Chalisa, the idea was that they would understand what is being portrayed and those who don’t can simply enjoy the visuals and get engrossed in what they see. The film has been to 17 international film festivals and whenever I have interacted with people who are not Indian and don’t know anything about the Chalisa or even the Ramayana, they have said that they felt transported to a surreal world by the film even if they didn’t understand the story it was telling,” Charuvi explains.
“Shree Hanuman Chalisa” will be screened for a public audience as part of an exhibition in April. “We wanted to create an experience beyond just the film screening and decided to curate a show that is a mix of art, spirituality and technology so that it appeals to a wider cross-section of people,” she says and one look at the suspended bell sculpture of Hanuman that uses 26, 240 bells is enough to give one an idea of the kind of physical installations she plans to incorporate at the exhibition. An augmented reality digital installation is paired with the bell form wherein a person standing before the screen and doing a namaste to the sculpture will see rays emitted by it illuminating their chakras in a virtual environment, on the screen.
