Ramayana the epic in animated form next year

Mumbai, Sep 13 (UNI) The great Indian epic Ramayana which had been the subject matter for several films and television serials over the years will now be presented as a feature film in animation version by Maya Entertainment Limited (MEL).

Scheduled for release next year, the animation version would bring Ram to the world in a new avatar as a superhero who surpassed obstacles which was beyond any ordinary human.

Based on Valmiki Ramayana, the film would be directed by Chetan Desai with Actor Juhi Chawla rendering the voice of Sita, Manoj Bajpai that of Rama and Ashutosh Rana lending his voice to Ravana and Mukesh Rishi had given vocie to Hanuman.

Ramayana the Epic promises to bring to Indian screens global standards in animation seen so far only in International animation films according to a release from Maya International.

Director Chetan Desai aims to introduce Ram to the younger generation as the aspirational idol and the greatest superhero India has ever produced. Film Ramayana-the Epic presents Ramayana the way today's younger generations would like to see, without tampering with its originality. It has larger than life backdrop of the grandeur from the era portrayed with a never before seen visual extravaganza of this high paced action packed story of heroism and bravery. It has contemporary music with state of art sound effects.

MEL Executive Vice President Mr Jai Natarajan Business Development said, Maya Entertaiment had nurtured a vision to showcase to Indians a high-end animation film that would appear real to the eyes. He said there was a boom in the animation industry and India had immense potential to encash it.

In 2006, the animation industry was at Rs 10.5 billion and is estimated to grow upto Rs 40 Billion in the next three years.

''I am confident this movie will usher in a new era in the Indian animation industry. Ramayana the Epic will be ready by December 2008 and we are looking at releasing it early next year'' he added UNI VK ZA SB CS1340