Dinesh Kamath's column on animation film 'Sons of Ram - the Heroes will rise' that was published in Newsband

Renowned singer, Sunidhi Chauhan, has done the voiceover for the character of Sita, in the upcoming 3D animation movie Sons of Ram - the Heroes will rise, presented by Amar Chitra Katha. The movie will release along with a short film Shikari Shambhu - the man eater in 3D and 2D in over 400 theatres, across India on 2 November, 2012, right in time for the Diwali vacation.

  Inspired by late Anant Pai's famous comic Sons of Rama, the movie is a contemporary tale of brotherhood, courage and adventure, set in the backdrop of the epic Ramayana. The film narrates Luv and Kush's journey through enchanted forests into the revered land of Ayodhya, the home of their fabled heroes. Complete with a brand new gang of loveable characters, ACK's Sons of Ram is an epic coming-of-age adventure as never seen before.

Sunidhi has been offered two songs in this film. She agreed to do the voiceover for the character of Sita because she loves animation. Doing the voiceover for Sita was great fun for her. Doing a voiceover for an animated character is more difficult than singing as you don't have a ready reference. You need to understand the character and get into the role, that is when you can get your dialogues right. For Sunidhi, doing the voiceover for Sita was difficult. Sita is an idealistic woman and Sunidhi had to sound matured for the character. She read the dialogues then saw the film, and that is when she got it right. It was loads of fun and. She feels that now she can do any voiceover after recording for Sita.

The movie Sons of Ram boasts of four original musical songs. Children and adults will love the non-stop entertainment and strong story line full of thrilling twists and turns. Amar Chitra Katha's rich legacy of art is richly portrayed in this film. The company is set to release its first 3D animation movie, Sons of Ram - Heroes will rise, in collaboration with Cartoon Network across over 325 screens in the major cities.

For Sons of Ram, a Rs 5-6 crore budget movie, the company, in collaboration with Big Bazaar, will have its film-themed merchandise on sale in various categories, such as apparel, stationery and school products.

Poor turnover at the box office and disinterested audiences are not really causes to exult at the coming-of-age of animation films in the sub-continent but that doesn’t deter Jonathan Dotan, producer of the Sons of Ram — Heroes Will Rise that will see a wide release on 2 November, ’12.

The story of Luv and Kush is based on mythology but at its core, it is a wonderful adventure of brotherhood and camaraderie; of the trials and tribulations of what a family, particularly what a single mother goes through and since the inspiration came through from Pai’s comic, the story was used and contemporised.

The most successful films have always been about fables that talk about good values. The fact is that mythology works in India. Sons of Ram is one of the most popular comics by Amar Chitra Katha. The story is made in such a way that it is more believable to modern audiences without being preachy or stuffy.

Making an animation movie is an elaborate process. One that involves everything from creating background stories for the characters, storyboarding, then putting it into animation, editing the film and then getting the voice-over artistes to act the roles. One of the highlights of Sons of Ram is that both Jonathan and Kushal have done a great job. Kushal’s main focus is to make Sons of Ram the best animation film that’s been made so far. So do watch the film Sons of Ram.