"We’ll see more animation films after Arjun" – Arnab Chaudhari

Do not take the latest entrant for granted for this is not your usual run of the mill mythological feature. It is the first venture coming from the stables of the recently merged Disney and UTV. Directed by debutant Arnab Chaudhuri, Arjun: The Warrior Prince revolves around Arjun, a nine year old boy and his transformation into a warrior; it explores his journey with his brothers, his training and education, and discovering the warrior within. Tata Elxsi’s Visual Computing Labs (VCL) has executed the animation of the film with a work force of seventy five artists, spread across three grueling years to accomplish the film. VCL has worked on Jodhaa Akbar, Rang De Basanti, Roadside Romeo etc. In addition VCL’s Hollywood contribution includes Ironman, Spiderman, Indiana Jones etc. Talking about the look and feel of Arjun, Creative Director of VCL, Pankaj Khandpur says, “Arnab wanted this hand painted 2D feel which makes the film look very unique, but we wanted to do this in a 3D space, as it gives maximum flexibility to work on. Using Pixar’s Renderman, we developed a shader which allowed us to give a 2D look to the 3D elements and we did the entire process all through the film’s production.” Arnab is no stranger to animation, his tryst with moving pictures goes back to ’89, he has worked on claymation using bolex cameras and no computers. As an animator he has worked with Channel V, Cartoon Network and Pogo for many years in Hong Kong. Bollywood Hungama’s Philip Bode meets up with animator and debutant director, Arnab Chaudhuri to talk about creating a hybrid fighting style for the film, people taking too many safe bets, quality of animation in India and working with VCL to churn out, Arjun: The Warrior Prince.