Ajay tweets sketches of dhokla loving mother and teasing cop

Toonpur Ka Superrhero which stars Ajay Devgn and Kajol is all set to hit Indian theatres later this month, fans are eagerly awaiting the release of this unique animation live-action film. Kireet the Director of the film said that although the film is a concoction of live action and animation, Read More">it’s unlike any other filmRead More

Toonpur Ka Superrhero which stars Ajay Devgn and Kajol is all set to hit Indian theatres later this month, fans are eagerly awaiting the release of this unique animation live-action film. Kireet the Director of the film said that although the film is a concoction of live action and animation, it's unlike any other film because more often than not cg elements are embedded into a live action world, but here Ajay enters a cartoon world which is Toonpur.

A few days earlier, Ajay tweeted character sketches of the 'Brave and fearless' Beegben one of the cartoony personas of the film along with Pandu, the law keeper of Toonpur who has a soft spot for Beegben, on the social networking site.

Kireet Khurana, the director of the film chats with BollywoodHungama on the thought process and character designs that made Pandu feel affection for Beegben and why Beegben loves to feed.

And finally how many versions were made for these character’s? Over a hundred iterations, Read More">changes and modifications were made. Why should Pandu be a cop at all? Why is he Kolhapuri and why not from Haryana? Why do we need the character at all in the film and what is the motive or want ofRead More

And finally how many versions were made for these character's?

Over a hundred iterations, changes and modifications were made. Why should Pandu be a cop at all? Why is he Kolhapuri and why not from Haryana? Why do we need the character at all in the film and what is the motive or want of this character that drives him or her? We looked at psychological needs of the character to define the physical form. Of course, above all this was that the characters needed to drive the story forward which was the prime objective.

Tell us something about Pandu? Pandu is the stereotypical cop you would find on the streets of Mumbai till a few years ago. With a bulging stomach and a rustic demeanor, he is identifiable by his Kolhapuri accented Hindi that he speaks. However, Read More">Pandu is a conscientious cop and his human side is exposed inRead More

Tell us something about Pandu?

Pandu is the stereotypical cop you would find on the streets of Mumbai till a few years ago. With a bulging stomach and a rustic demeanor, he is identifiable by his Kolhapuri accented Hindi that he speaks. However, Pandu is a conscientious cop and his human side is exposed in Toonpur, his intrinsic desire to woo and win the love of Beegben is the undercurrent in his personality that drives him to do things and prove his manliness in her eyes. These are traits we see in others around us (and ourselves) making an instant emotional connect.

Read More">Why is it a necessity to infuse character traits while designing the character? What was the process like? As the task was colossal we followed the “Stansilavsky” system as far as humanly possible. The Stanilavsky system follows one central idea: “Know your characters to the last breathe of their souls” (this saying was posted onRead More

Why is it a necessity to infuse character traits while designing the character? What was the process like?

As the task was colossal we followed the "Stansilavsky" system as far as humanly possible. The Stanilavsky system follows one central idea: "Know your characters to the last breathe of their souls" (this saying was posted on the desks of all pre-production artists working on character design and the animators as well). Each and every curve, appendage or accessory in the bodies was drawn with justification, motivation and adhering the characterization that we had imbibed in the script.

Every aspect of designing the character was important, the artist had to explain the thought process and why he or she chose to draw the character in a certain way, the do's and don'ts of the character's, their mental make-up, wants, desires, weaknesses, back story etc.

This intellectual approach had to meet the criteria of functionality, integrity to script, appeal, funny and cute appearance. The character was approved if the test was passed obviously this process was not simple as it seems, therefore we just didn't draw the characters, but arrived at them after a lot of groping and justification, right or wrong is immaterial.

So how long did it take to design Beegben and Pandu?

It would take typically a week for a character per artist.

Who designed the Character’s? The head of pre-production Prashant Shikare was responsible for the entire creative supervision and he is a very good artist himself. All the character designs, props, Read More">environments and locations were done by my team at 2nz Animation Co. It’s difficult to ascertain who sketched Beegben but inputs and honest feedback wasRead More

Who designed the Character's?

The head of pre-production Prashant Shikare was responsible for the entire creative supervision and he is a very good artist himself. All the character designs, props, environments and locations were done by my team at 2nz Animation Co. It's difficult to ascertain who sketched Beegben but inputs and honest feedback was taken from all artists working on the film. This was backed by Research lead by our Creative Director- Tehzeeb Khurana who is also an artist.

On what common grounds did you design the characters?

There was a common thread, as we went along designing the characters for Toonpur, the thread that displays a diversified multi cultural aspect so the character would connect emotionally with our audience. Each character went through at least a hundred iterations, changes, thoughts, experiments and tweaks before it was selected, incorporating the best feedback from all the artists and keeping in mind the relevance of the design with the function of the character in the script. No character was arrived at from the first or even the tenth draft for that matter. The characters had to pass through the criteria of being Indian, identifiable, relatable, indelible and funny/cute. If these criteria met, the character would be approved.

What's Beegben like?

Beegben because she is Big and she is Gujarati 'ben' which means sister was born out of the same thought. Being a typical Gujarati overbearing mother, with an incurable motherly urge to feed the Devtoons, she can be quite assertive and protective when the situation demands it. the situation demands it.