Did you know? 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' was animated using nearly one lakh hand drawn cells

`Ramayana:The Legend of Prince Rama` in cinemas on October 18

'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama', conceived by Yugo Sako and directed by Koichi Sasaki and Ram Mohan, is recognised as one of the earliest anime adaptations of an Indian epic. Completed in 1993, this remarkable film revolutionised the animation landscape by introducing Indian mythology to global audiences through the lens of Japanese anime, marking a significant milestone in animation history and fostering cultural ties between India and Japan. It also depicted Indian storytelling in a unique format, blending the artistic traditions of two countries in a way that had never been done before.

Making of Yugo Sako's Ramayana

Yugo Sako's journey of creating Ramayana was fueled by his deep admiration for Indian culture. He made several visits to India while working on a documentary film about archaeological excavations and found the perfect story in Ramayana to adapt into an animated feature, leading to the creation of 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama'. Sako saw the universal themes of love, friendship, and loyalty as the heart of the epic and believed that animation could help bring these values to children and adults across the world.

With a team of 450 artists, the film was animated using nearly 1,00,000 hand-drawn cells. Sako chose traditional hand-drawn animation over computer animation because he believed it best captured the warmth and humanity of the Ramayana. His team's dedication to this labour-intensive process gave the film an emotional depth, helping it achieve global acclaim. Many of the animators who worked on the project later contributed to iconic productions such as 'Pokémon', 'Dragon Ball Z', 'Doraemon', and films from Studio Ghibli, further cementing the film's influence on the animation industry.

'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' was screened in India at the 24th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in 1993 but wasn't released in cinema halls. It became popular with Indian audiences upon its re-runs on TV channels in the early 2000s.

The film's Hindi dubbed version had some of the most popular songs, ‘Shri Raghuvar Ki Vaanar Sena,' ‘Janani Main Ramdoot Hanuman,' and ‘Jai Lankeshwar,' composed by Vanraj Bhatia and penned by P.K. Mishra.

In the Hindi version, actor Arun Govil voiced the character of Ram, Namrata Sawhney voiced Sita, and the late Amrish Puri lent his voice to Raavan, with veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha serving as narrator. Surprisingly, Bryan Cranston voiced the character of Rama in the US version, which contrasts with his moral compass, as he is famous for his morally ambiguous characters, such as the one in Breaking Bad. Tom Wyner and Edie Mirman dubbed for the characters of Ravana and Sita in English.

Now remastered in 4K, 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' is set to see its first-ever pan-India release in four languages - English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu - during the festive season. The film promises to be a cinematic celebration that will combine India's cultural richness with the brilliance of Japanese anime. Distributed across India in a revamped look by Geek Pictures India, AA Films, and Excel Entertainment, the film is set to captivate audiences nationwide.

Mela! Mela! Anime Japan Festival

Geek Pictures India, in collaboration with the Japan Consulate in New Delhi, held a special fan event as a part of the exciting Mela! Mela! Anime Japan festival. Delighting anime fans, Geek Pictures India - producers of the newly dubbed Indian versions of 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' - surprised attendees with the announcement of an exclusive 4K screening. The response was immediate, with all slots filling within ten minutes as fans hurried to be a part of the experience.