Skip to main content

Exquisite Pattachitra art. Pic courtesy: Tilak Shetty, Graphiti
All of us have, sometime or the other, seen wall paintings in Madhubani art, with their rich and eye-catching geometric designs. Now visualise this traditional folk art form in an animated film for children. Mind-boggling isn’t it?
The man behind this imagery, Tilak Shetty, director of Krish,Trish and Batliboy II, has picked popular folk-tales and brought them alive on the big screen using this medium of art.
Tilak, who was at the inauguration of the two-day Children’s Film Fest held in the city recently, confesses that he cannot draw or paint “to save his life” and hence, chose this medium because “someone has to archive and document our folk history for posterity. And, films assure you of that,” he says.
A Commerce graduate, Tilak also dabbled in computer programming before setting up his animation company, Graphiti. He reveals that it is the art that decides the stories. “We first decide on the folk art and then we start researching on the folk-tales of the region. India has around 40 cultural zones; if we pick one artistic style, we also dig out at least three stories to complement it. We have a treasure trove of arts and stories, and it’s fun to blend the two on the screen,” he shares.
The “fun” entails painstaking research on the style, understanding the particular art form’s rules, getting the edits ready, maintaining the continuity — and in case it does not produce the desired results, then starting all over again.
When he started out, Tilak knew just three art styles — Warli, Mughal miniatures and Madhubani. So, this new visual medium “fascinates” him. “I’m learning a lot in the process and am also passing on that knowledge to others. In my animation films, I include a 30-second bit about the history of the art. It is like an introduction, say of leather puppetry from Karnataka to a kid who may be in Bihar. I am using the detailing involved in that particular art to weave the stories. The trees will be drawn in a specific shape, the human figures will have clothes in that design and the props too will flaunt that typical style. If children remember the names of the designs or the regions they flourish in, I will consider my All of us have, sometime or the other, seen wall paintings in Madhubani art, with their rich and eye-catching geometric designs. Now visualise this traditional folk art form in an animated film for children. Mind-boggling isn’t it?
The man behind this imagery, Tilak Shetty, director of Krish,Trish and Batliboy II, has picked popular folk-tales and brought them alive on the big screen using this medium of art.
Tilak, who was at the inauguration of the two-day Children’s Film Fest held in the city recently, confesses that he cannot draw or paint “to save his life” and hence, chose this medium because “someone has to archive and document our folk history for posterity. And, films assure you of that,” he says.
A Commerce graduate, Tilak also dabbled in computer programming before setting up his animation company, Graphiti. He reveals that it is the art that decides the stories. “We first decide on the folk art and then we start researching on the folk-tales of the region. India has around 40 cultural zones; if we pick one artistic style, we also dig out at least three stories to complement it. We have a treasure trove of arts and stories, and it’s fun to blend the two on the screen,” he shares.
The “fun” entails painstaking research on the style, understanding the particular art form’s rules, getting the edits ready, maintaining the continuity — and in case it does not produce the desired results, then starting all over again.
When he started out, Tilak knew just three art styles — Warli, Mughal miniatures and Madhubani. So, this new visual medium “fascinates” him. “I’m learning a lot in the process and am also passing on that knowledge to others. In my animation films, I include a 30-second bit about the history of the art. It is like an introduction, say of leather puppetry from Karnataka to a kid who may be in Bihar. I am using the detailing involved in that particular art to weave the stories. The trees will be drawn in a specific shape, the human figures will have clothes in that design and the props too will flaunt that typical style. If children remember the names of the designs or the regions they flourish in, I will consider my work as successful,” he concludes.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Portrait of a poet

This has already been published in the Sunday supplement. Krishnaji Keshav Damle also known as Keshavsut --- Poetry never really appealed to me. And, so it was with great reluctance that I agreed to my husband's plan to visit Keshavsut Smarak – a memorial raised in memory of 'Father of Modern Marathi Poetry', Krishnaji Keshav Damle – in Malgund. We were in Ganapatipule at that time and decided to go to Malgund, a 10-minute drive (a kilometre) from the popular tourist destination. A sign-post told us to take a left turn and what greeted us, at the end of the lane, was tranquil silence. No security guards, no tourists, just a plaque announcing that Damle, popularly known as Keshavsut, was born in the red-roofed house, surrounded by green shrubbery. Keshavsut's house in Malgund  A poem by Keshavsut  The house, renovated in the old style, was near-empty, except for Keshavsut's portrait that was hanging from the wall in the front room. In the
Post a Comment
Read more

Many ideas of ‘self’ (Review of Pratibimb, Marathi play)

With Mahesh Elkunchwar’s name as a writer associated with Pratibimb (Reflection), you know nothing in the play will be at face value. Nothing is what it seems. It is difficult for commoners to get into Elkunchwar’s mindspace, which is precisely the subject of the Marathi play, which was staged earlier in August and will now be performed again on Friday, September 15 at Sudarshan Rangmanch, Shaniwar Peth. While watching the play, it’s evident that the viewer has to peel various layers to get to the core of the story — Who are you? What does ‘self-identity’ mean? Is it so bad if your reflection goes missing or if you have no identity? Thokale (a white-collared office goer) wakes up one morning and finds his reflection missing. Enters Bai, his landlady, who tries to assure him that nothing is lost. In fact, it could be a ‘breaking news’ for the newspaper. This perhaps could have led to a lot of chaos physically. Instead, we are led to the darkness looming large in our dystopian minds
Post a Comment
Read more

Valu and more

Visited Poman Pimpale village where Marathi picture Valu was shot. --- Documentary la chala… came the shout and Poman Pimpale villagers slowly started gathering at the village square. The children were already there, jostling each other, eager to see the ‘documentary’ – Marathi film Valu, which was shot in this village, some 14 kms away from Saswad. On the occasion of the film completing 50 successful days, the cast and crew of Valu, decided to host a special screening for the villagers on Saturday as a tribute. As Umesh Kulkarni, the director of Valu says, “ The movie is a collaborative venture of the villagers and myself. Valu is theirs as much as it is mine.” You just need to mingle with the crowd to find out what Umesh says is true - it’s their movie that the villagers have gathered to see. Pradeep Poman, a village elder, says that they enjoyed the whole film making process. “It had become a past time for us. Whenever we had some time to spare, we just went to see the shooting.
Post a Comment
Read more