The lockdown seems to have helped Manvitha Kamath explore yet another creative side of herself. The RJ-turned-actor, who is also into scriptwriting, is now entering the world of animation. She studied the subject in college, and it is now becoming a passion. The actor says her new venture, Studio Manekin, will smoothly fill the gap between animation and live-action filmmaking to help create high-quality content.
“We want to be the firm that filmmakers can instantly call for pre-visualising their script, planning their title sequence, or creating other aspects for their films. Our expertise means that you get the clear insight of an actor-writer who’s spent years on the sets understanding every aspect of filmmaking, and the visualisation skills of a seasoned animation artist, all in one place,” says Manvitha, whose studio was launched on August 9 by Bollywood producer Madhu Mantena Varma.
The Tagaru actor says that after two years of leading a nomadic life involving constant learning and travel, she wanted to settle down to execute her ideas and learning. It started with a simple storyboard firm. “I even got in touch with my animation lecturer for some contacts.
I got in touch with my long-lost cousin, Ankitha, who currently lives in the Netherlands. Her works were astonishing and perfect for the firm that I was curating. As we connected over phone, we learned that our goals are the same, and we are happy to collaborate. The monkey riding a bicycle was the first sketch she had illustrated in 2016, and it served as the theme for our new entity,” says Manvitha, adding, “My passion grew further after watching director Suri’s artwork.
The film director, who is also a painter, has always been my inspiration.” The name Manekin, she explains, comes from a combination of their names. “It’s derived from ‘Man’ from Manvita and ‘Kin’ from Kini. Manekin is also ‘mannequin’ spelt differently. We thought it was quite apt for a firm that provides pre-visualisation services,” she adds.