'The Legend of Hanuman' will make audiences look at animation in new way: Sharad Devarajan

Sharad Devarajan, the co-creator of animated series ''The Legend of Hanuman'', believes the show has the potential to usher in a new type of storytelling for India and move a generation of audiences to look at animation from a new perspective. The 13-episode series, the first original animated series by streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar, chronicles the story of Lord Hanuman.

It is produced by Graphic India and created by Devarajan, Jeevan J Kang and Charuvi P Singhal.

In an email interview with PTI, Devarajan described the series as a ''groundbreaking'' show which has a universal appeal.

''We see 'The Legend of Hanuman' as groundbreaking series that has the potential to usher in a new type of storytelling for the country," he said. ''The sophistication in the writing and visuals portray 'The Legend of Hanuman' with reverence, complexity, drama and heart that allows us to hopefully move a generation of audiences in India to look at animation in a whole new way and help usher in a golden age of Indian animated projects that appeal to the masses,'' he added.

Devarajan, who is also the co-founder and CEO of Graphic India, said the company is focussed on creating stories that resonate with a wide audience and do justice to the complex subject matter of mythological tales.

Sharing the thought process behind creating ''The Legend of Hanuman'', Devarajan said Lord Hanuman is the quintessential Indian hero whose legends and stories have inspired over a billion people. ''This is a series that we hope will inspire audiences with a fresh new take on the mythology both visually and narratively for a whole new generation,'' he added.

The co-creator believes that previous live action film/TV versions about Lord Hanuman have all been limited in their production ability on being able to show the vast visual world of mythical beings, demons, forest creatures, spirits and anthropomorphic clans.

But ''The Legend of Hanuman'' is able to portray these elements through animation for the first time, he added.

Devarajan said that narratively, the creators of the series also focussed on an area of Hanuman's story that has not always fully been explored in other versions. ''When his power was taken from him as a child, he needed to go on a journey of self-discovery to remember the god inside of him. 'The Legend of Hanuman' is the story of Lord Hanuman's journey from an ordinary Vaanara to an immortal God and the universal lessons he must learn in order to embrace his immortality and vast powers. ''Through these early adventures, he will inspire audiences to learn that the true measure of a hero is not defined from power, but from faith, courage, hope and compassion.'' The COVID19 pandemic has altered the way content is being made and consumed. Devarajan believes that during the pandemic there has been a huge demand for new content of every type, whether it is live action, documentary or animation, by consumers who have been restricted in their homes due to lockdowns. ''Fortunately, animation is something that can still move forward in production through remote working systems even during the lock-downs or quarantine, which is what I believe makes it a compelling option for all platforms as part of their content strategy,'' he said.

He pointed out that Indian audiences, who may not have been as open to non-kids animation before the pandemic, may find themselves more open to it now as they have more time to experiment with new content. ''This creates a moment to shape new experiences and hopefully create new audiences for the entire eco-system.'' Post ''The Legend of Hanuman'', Devarajan said that he and his team are developing a number of other projects based on Indian mythology. ''These stories of our culture have inspired generations for thousands of years and are some of the defining works of all creation. Their relevancy and universal human stories continue to inspire over a billion people today.'' He emphasised that Indian mythological epics should now be produced with the same visual grandeur and narrative complexity that does justice to their profound spiritual and emotional truths. ''Animation is certainly one path forward for that and we are also exploring live-action film and television opportunities as well.'' PTI YAS RB RB

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