MANGALORE: Three young graphic designers from an interactive software firm, ‘I Point,’ have been in an upbeat mood for the past week.
Their video, ‘Enku Panambur Poye,’ uploaded on YouTube has been viewed by over 6,000 people since its release. The video has grabbed attention for it is the first-ever animated short film in Tulu.
Graphic designers Jayaram Navada, Abhilash Jacob and Shivananda Naik take creative liberties with a popular Tulu proverb to reveal why Enku, a simpleton and domestic help, undertakes a fruitless trip to Panambur.
The three-minute film impresses viewers for its minute attention to detail, crispy dialogues and perfect blend of voices with the cartoon characters.
While working at ‘I Point,’ they discovered their common passion for making animated films. An opportunity came their way when a short film competition was announced to mark the audio release of the Tulu film, ‘Amait Asal, Emait Khusal’, at Panambur Beach in February this year.
The theme was the brainchild of Navada who also wrote the script and dialogues. Based on the script, Shivananda Naik toiled on the computer in their room to bring the cartoon characters to life. With little time left, Navada sought the help of his mother Sundari Navada who willingly lent her voice for a female character. He also gave his voice for the two other characters.
To hide the poor quality of the recorded dialogues, the trio used broadcasts on Akashavani in the background. When the film exceeded its time limit, it was left to the editing skills of Abhilash Jacob, who did a neat job of reducing it to three minutes.
Highly impressed with the film, the jury declared ‘Enku’ as the best in the creative short film category. To those keen to know about their next venture, Navada says Enku was an experimental venture. “We have no plans for the future,” he says.