Eklavya: Behind the Bollywood set

Heard of Eklavya: The Royal Guard?

You may have.

I wouldn't have, if I wasn't a huge fan of the creative geniuses at Animagic India. Chetan, Gayatri and Sumant were part of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's creative team for Eklavya. They developed the storyboard for the film, animated the titles and worked on the special effects - flying knives and all! If the behind the scenes look interests you as much as it does me, then this in-depth exclusive will enthrall you. And, if you heard about the quandary surrounding Amitabh's beard, then jump straight to this.

Gayatri has also been busy with Rawworks, her brand of handmade eclectic crafts.


This Krishna lamp is one of my favorites. I would have bought it if I had been around for the exhibitions! See the Rawworks slideshow, which features the crafts she exhibited at The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, 2007.

And you know what else? That IFR mascot up there on the top right corner of this blog? That's courtesy of Gayatri Rao.

I am very proud!

Update:: See Chetan turn Medha into the 5th Power Puff Girl. She was just 4 at the time. (I don't have the final sketch uploaded yet because...it's so safe I can't find it! When I do, I will upload it!)

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those were great links! I spent the entire morning look at the storyboards and other pages at Animax...Magic!

Now, to work.

Vaishali said...

Oh, you sure are proud, Manisha. I too would be, if I were amongst such creative guys.
Btw, I always loved your mascot and always thought that you have created it. I even admired you for that. Now that the secret is out...hmmm...I mean I still admire you...but...well....hmmm
;-)

Anonymous said...

Anita, their work is fabulous, isn't it? I had seen the storyboards for Kashmir when I had visited their studio on my last trip to India - it was too long ago.

Vaishali, I wish I could be with them but they are Bombay-based! It's no secret that I did not create the IFR mascot. I am not that talented! What Animagic creates is awe-inspiring. To see a character evolve from initial sketches that look deceptively simple is fascinating. Some folks had asked me about the IFR mascot when I had switched the look of my blog and I've always been upfront about it. Sorry to disappoint you! Maybe I can make it up some other way, eh? :-D

Priya said...

I saw the movie last night and the special effects were really good. It has been incorporated so well that you can hardly notice where the special effects have been used at all !!
The similarity between the storyboards and the characters is stunning !

Anonymous said...

Hi Manisha,
I just went through your post on Eklavya, ( Animagic)It was really interesting to know about story boarding etc .
I am impressed with the lamps which your friend Gayatri has created. I wish I had seen that exhibition.
The colours are so vibrant , I liked each n every lamp. Do you have any idea, of what material the lamp bases were made of( glass or metal)?

Anonymous said...

Priya, you lucky girl! It's going to be a while before I will get to see the film. So your feedback is really super! I will let the folks at Animagic know!!

Archana, I was lucky to find out about storyboards from Sumant many years ago. I don't know if other directors use them as extensively as VVC does or if VVC uses storyboards because that is how Chetan visualizes each scene. I think Gayatri's lamps are made from glass and she has painted on them. I will confirm this in any case. She had also done a very cute owl which was glass mosaic on glass. She's quite amazing.

Anonymous said...

Hi Manisha,
I saw the owl lamp which Gayatri made. It is simply amazing. I have never seen art in this form. Please convey my appreciation to Gayatri when ever you contact her :) I wish I was in Mumbai right now.
I think the the other lamps are also made from glass. Thats just my guess
:)

HAREKRISHNAJI said...

How I missed beautiful Krishna Lamp at The Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, 2007.

Eklavya is big flop movie, not worth

Inji Pennu said...

Will blogger allow me to comment here?
Let me try..

Sig said...

Wow, that lamp is amazing! Your friend is so talented, I checked out her other work as well. Is she selling stuff on the net by any chance? ;)

Anonymous said...

Archana, I will let her know! Thank you!

HKG, I love the Krishna lamp, too! As for Eklavya, I will be watching it because I know what went into making it. At the end of the day, I am sure it's like every other Hinid movie: first, unzip head, take brain, lay it aside, zip up head, open eyes and watch movie!

Inji, comments were never disabled. I could create posts but they would not be published. I could edit existing posts but they would be saved as drafts. I could, however, edit my template.

Sig, welcome! Gayatri is not selling on the net. If you are ever in Bombay, you could get in touch with her through their web site to see if she has anything left. :-D

Anonymous said...

HKG, I must add that I know not what makes a film a hit or a flop. Most of the movies I have liked have not exactly been a hit with the masses. :-D

Inji Pennu said...

you should know manisha, i have some high level contacts hehehe. just see how it got unlocked right on time for march 5th! :) hehehe

Anjali Koli said...

Wow are a fab trio and Medha looks cute.

Anonymous said...

Inji, as usual, you crack me up!

Anjali, thanks! I was hesitant about posting her pictures but they are over 4 years old and she doesn't look like that anymore! She was quite sick of me cos I kept saying: "See how cute you were?! See?" And, all because I thought she looked so cute with bangs and with her hair the way I wanted it. Sigh! They grow up too soon!

HAREKRISHNAJI said...

Manisha,

I take back my words about Eklavya. I frankly speaking know nothing on movies and I was wrong to make my opinion from reading reviews in newspapers. I should not have passed loose comments