MIFF Campus: The Prime Minister spoke about his recent visit to Japan where he met Atsushi Matsuo and Kenji Yoshi who were involved in the making of 'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama', the first animation film co-produced by India and Japan and released in 1993. The film is celebrating 30 years since its first launch.
Swati Bhat
Listen to what the Prime Minister said about the film
“This project was associated with Japan's very famous film director Yugo Sako Ji. About 40 years ago, in 1983, he came to know about Ramayana for the first time,” the Prime Minister said. The Prime Minister mentioned that the director Yugo Sako was touched by 'Ramayana' that he started researching deeply about the epic. “He read 10 versions of Ramayana in Japanese language, and not only did he stop at this, he also wanted to showcase it through animation,” he added.
The Prime Minister also shared how Indian animators helped him and guided him about the Indian customs and traditions that have been shown in the animation film. “He was told how people in India wear dhoti, saree, how they groom their hair, how children respect each other within the family, offering salutation to the elders of the household, seeking their blessings - all these things!,” the Prime Minister shared.
The Prime Minister expressed his love and appreciation for the people of Japan who in spite of the differences in the culture and language could connect and admire our Indian culture with respect. “People living thousands of kilometers away from us in Japan, who don't know our language, who don't know much about our traditions, their dedication to our culture, this reverence, this respect, is very commendable - which Indian would not be proud of that!.”
About the Film
'Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama' is Directed by the legendary Indian animator Ram Mohan and Japanese director Yûgô Sakô and Koichi Saski.
Based on the Valmiki's Ramayana, ‘Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama’ explores the ‘FUSION’ style of animation that consists of three different schools of animation-Manga from Japan, Disney from the US and Ravi Varma from India.