Manikantan

About Manikantan

Telling a story is not a real challenge. Retaining the interest of the listener while telling a story that has been told many times over is. And that was the challenge that team at Increation had while conceiving the story line of Manikantan.

The Beginning

Legend of Manikantan or Swami Ayyappan is quite popular, as he is one of most popular Indian deities. The temple at Sabarimala is second perhaps only to Tirupati Venkitachala Temple in terms of number of pilgrims visiting in during a calendar year.

Right from the initial discussions, it was decided that the film will root the story in a contemporary context, rather than just visualise the legend of Manikantan.

Again, the story has been told in various visual media like film and television serials and hence Increation thought of telling the story using potential of animation. This will help to give a creative dimension to the process of story telling, it is suggested.

That was the seed for characters Parvathy and her pet parrot Panchami. The story is told through the little girl’s perspective, her devotion towards Manikantan. For the 9-year-old Parvathy, Manikantan is not just a divine force, he is a boy with whom she can play. That led to the image of Manikantan as a 12-year-old prince, incarnated on earth with a divine mission.

The Process

Now that the story has many layers to it, the creative team at Increation started working on the platform on which the story could be placed. It was clear that conventional techniques of animation would be of little help here. Thus began the brain-storming for right style of animation.

Finally, it was decided that only a combination of styles will be able to do justice to the complexities in narration. Though Indian animation is at present evolving in leaps and bounds, for Increation the task was to create new paths, till now unexplored.

The base in the working philosophy at Increation was establishing, and retaining, the umbilical connection between the past and the present. So, why not draw inspiration from the art created by those who have gone by?

Looking back, we found the marvellous world of images and colours on walls – murals etched by masters for us to learn from. Animation styled after murals is just one among nine different styles used in this film. The Increation wants the film Manikantan to set a new benchmark in Indian animation industry.

The film was conceived as part of one of the most vibrant industries in India and so, we decided to place the project before leading actors in the industry. Almost all the leading actors in Malayalam film industry readily associated with the work and rendered voices, starting from superstar Mohanlal and senior actors like Thilakan, Jagathy Sreekumar and Sukumari.

The Present

The work of the film is progressing at the studios of Increation. Pre-production work is almost over, which accounts to nearly 60 per cent of the total work. The post-production work is undergoing at DQ. Manikantan will soon arrive, like the Mighty Prince he is, to rule the minds and hearts.

Banglore based Indiatales Media Pvt Ltd. are the producers of the movie and Mr. Nalin singh, is the executive producer.

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