Based on a Kannada folk song, Punyakoti will explore the growing issue of man-animal conflicts

The idea of a crowd-sourced animation movie in Sanskrit has impressed legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja so much that he has not only agreed to compose the music for the film but has also consented to put out his music scoresheets in public.

V. Ravi Shankar, a techie from Bangalore, and the driving force behind the project along with animator A.V. Girish, calls the attempt a crazy idea.

But if they pull it off the movie is sure to record many firsts, and the language would not be the only one.

Based on a Kannada folk song that narrates the story of a confrontation between a cow and a tiger, Punyakoti will explore the growing issue of man-animal conflicts.

The movie would not only crowd-source funds but also the content, a precedent for which is hard to spot in the Indian context.

“The tiger wants to hunt the cow. The cow requests some time as it has to feed its calf. Though it had a chance to escape after returning to its home, it remains honest and decides to go back to the tiger. Behind this celebration of honesty, I ask the question of why the tiger strayed into human territory and analyse the reasons behind it,” Mr. Ravi explains.

Mr. Ravi says quality of animation movies in India has been suspect and are criticised for not being top notch. The reason is not the lack of creative animators but that many do not have the opportunity to work given fund constraints. Hence the clarion calls to all animation studios and creative artists to chip in.

“The idea of the project is to tap the best minds. We have put the script, based on a book I have already written on this story, in the open. We are already receiving responses.”

The movie will not claim copyrights. But the music copyright will remain with Mr. Ilaiyaraaja, he says. The reason for choosing Sanskrit was its “scientific” construction.

The language, Mr. Ravi says, lends itself to such projects. “It is almost like an algorithm.”

Details of the project, which Mr. Ravi wishes to complete by 2016, can be accessed at >http://www.punyakoti.com.