Ramayana: The Epic

Ramayana: The Epic
Directed by Chetan Desai[1][2]
Produced by Ketan Mehta[3]
Deepa Sahi[4]
Niraj Bhukanwala[4]
Written by Story:
Rituraj Ramendra Tripathi[4]
Screenplay:
Chetan Desai[4]
Starring Manoj Bajpai[1]
Juhi Chawla[1]
Ashutosh Rana[1]
Mukesh Rishi[5]
Music by Shaarang Dev Pandit[4]
Cinematography Chetan Desai[4]
Editing by Sayed Sher Abbas[4]
Studio Maya Digital Media[1]
Distributed by Warner Bros. India[1]
Release date(s) 15 October 2010 (2010-10-15)
Running time 100 minutes[6]
Country India
Language Hindi
Tamil
Telugu

Ramayana: The Epic is a 2010 computer-animated film[2] from India's Maya Digital Media.[1] Directed by Chetan Desai[1][2] and produced by Ketan Mehta,[3] it was released by Warner Bros. India on 15 October 2010.[1]

Contents

Synopsis

The film is a retelling of the story of Lord Rama, from his birth until his battle with Ravan at Sri Lanka.[6]

Cast

Name Character Source
Manoj Bajpai Ram [6]
Juhi Chawla Sita [6]
Ashutosh Rana Ravan [6]
Mukesh Rishi Hanuman [5]

Production

"The Ramayana holds appeal even today, thousands of years after it is said to have been written. It is impossible to translate the grandeur and the setting of this epic in live action. Hence, animation is the only way to retell it in all its glory."

Ketan Mehta, producer[7]

Ramayana is the directorial debut of Chetan Desai,[2] the chairman and managing director of Maya Digital Media.[1] More than 400 crewmembers worked on the film over a five-year period;[6] the first three years were spent designing the characters, while the other two were devoted to actual production.[5]

Release

In September 2010, Warner Bros. India acquired the rights to Ramayana: The Epic.[1][2][8] This has made it India's second animated feature to be released by the local arm of a Hollywood studio, following Disney and Yash Raj's Roadside Romeo from 2008.[1]

The film was released on 15 October 2010, during the festivity of Dussehra.[2] 250 prints[9] were screened in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions;[1][8] English, Gujarati and Bengali versions have also been prepared.[7] A North American release is scheduled for early 2011.[9] Four days after its debut, Joginder Mahajan of Delhi expressed concern over the low box-office take.[10]

Reception

Reporting for the Twitch Film site, Josh Hurtado said, "While the animation of this project may look crude to [Western] eyes based upon the trailer, it is still miles beyond anything we've seen India create in this department so far."[8] Upon release, Indian Express gave it three stars out of five and commented that the animation was above par for the Indian animation industry, but singled out the Sanskrit dialogue.[11] The Times of India also praised the animation, adding that "the special effects ... sizzle and crackle".[12] Anupama Chopra of NDTV Movies gave it a mixed review, calling it a "faithful but dreary retelling". He came to the conclusion that "Ramayana is an ambitious step toward better homegrown cinema for children. I just wish it had more crackle."[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Bhushan, Nyay (14 September 2010). "Warner India to release 'Ramayana'". The Hollywood Reporter (e5 Global Media). http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/asia/news/e3ia02b5fdf7bb7dfc160982c1f9a1886f0. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Chakraborty, Swarup (14 September 2010). "Warner Bros to distribute Ramayana". Business Standard (Business Standard Limited). http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/warner-bros-to-distribute-ramayana/408038/. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Ramayana: The Epic slideshow". MSN Entertainment India. Microsoft. 17 September 2010. http://entertainment.in.msn.com/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=4393520. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Ramayana movie info". Bharat Movies. http://www.bharatmovies.com/hindi/info/Ramayana.htm. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c "Animated Ramayana to Be Released for Dussehra". CineGoer. 15 September 2010. http://www.cinegoer.com/telugu-cinema/news-archives/september-2010/animated-ramayana-to-be-released-for-dussehra-150910.html. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f Agencies (15 September 2010). "Warner Bros to distribute Ramayana-The Epic". ExpressIndia.com (The Indian Express Limited). http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Warner-Bros-to-distribute-RamayanaThe-Epic/681690/. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  7. ^ a b Nagpaul D'souza, Dipti (17 September 2010). "Epic Effort". IndianExpress.com (The Indian Express Limited). http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Epic-Effort/682610/. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  8. ^ a b c Hurtado, Josh (13 September 2010). "Film News: Indian Animated 'Ramayana: The Epic' Picked Up by Warner Bros". Twitch Film. http://twitchfilm.net/news/2010/09/indian-animated-ramayana-the-epic-picked-up-by-warner-bros.php. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
  9. ^ a b Staff (18 October 2010). "Ramayana The Epic to reach USA & Canada in early 2011". Indian Television Dot Com Pvt Ltd. http://www.indiantelevision.com/aac/y2k10/aac719.php. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
  10. ^ Indo-Asian News Service (19 October 2010). "Three festival filcks 'Knocked Out' at BO". Hindustan Times (HT Media Limited). http://www.hindustantimes.com/Three-festival-flicks-Knocked-Out-at-BO/Article1-614909.aspx. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
  11. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (15 October 2010). "Ramayana: The Epic". IndianExpress.com (The Indian Express Limited). http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Ramayana---The-Epic/698144. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 
  12. ^ Kazmi, Nikhat (15 October 2010). "Ramayana: The Epic". The Times of India (Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd). 
  13. ^ Chopra, Anupama (15 October 2010). "Review: Ramayana: The Epic". NDTV Movies. NDTV Covergence Limited. http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_Review.aspx?id=557&cp. Retrieved 19 October 2010. 

External links