The recent TVC of Bisleri features a unique sea monster with a baby monster in its pouch which has been completely designed and visualized by acclaimed animation filmmaker Chetan Sharma. The entire pre production of the TVC has been done by Chetan Sharma’s studio Animagic India, while the CG production was done by VCL Tata Elxsi and production house involved was Equinox Films.
For this TVC the agency wanted some kind of a sea monster and the reference point for Ram Madhvani (Director -Bisleri TVC) was art and drawing styles of Dastan E Amir Hamza and some other paintings from the Persian and Mughal era.
Chetan shares, “We have underwater monsters in our miniature art, so we looked at them. We were also simultaneously boarding the film, so we knew what the monster is supposed to do and hence while designing the monster we kept all of the factors of acting in mind. We spent some time on the design, because to think like an Indian miniature artist who lived 500 years ago is bit of a task.”
Explaining the playfulness and colorfulness of the monster Chetan says, “We are selling Bisleri, so you can’t really have a monster colored red, orange and green because it will all be immediately reflected in the product.”
Ram Madhvani says, “I am constantly in search for an Indian way of seeing and I like the idea of borrowing from our own and making images that are rooted in our culture. My “go to” person on any film that is visually complex is Chetan Sharma of Animagic. I have known him from the time that we worked together on Mission Kashmir. Chetan has helped visualize many films for us. To my mind the board of Happydent (done by Chetan) was a work of art that could hang in most museums.
According to Chetan, making the character of the monster cute along with keeping it realistic was a challenge.
About which Ram says, “The cuteness and with that the reality of the monster were a tough balance and Chetan pulled it off with seeming ease. I also wanted an ornate “colourfulness” to the design. The idea of setting the tone of the film so that we know we are in a fable like genre came from him which is why the opening is done in animation in the Mughal / Persian manner so that the viewer is guided into a different world. The opening was critical to set the “sur” or “tone” of the film. The viewer must know that he is entering a world that is ornate, colourful, charming and fantastical. What I half see in my minds’ eye, Chetan helps me see fully. What else can I say but, that he makes my films better”.