* Veteran producer Jainardhan Sathyan rediscovers his Indian roots to depict the legend of Ramayana through the eyes of Princess Sita.
INVC NEWS
Mumbai,
It is time to augment the powers of one of the humblest and altruist characters from our favourite historic story of Ramayana. Veteran producer Jainardhan Sathyan has chosen the big responsibility of narrating one of the world’s oldest epics Ramayana from a women’s perspective in his upcoming animated feature film, “Princess Sita.”
Jainardhan Sathyan says, “there have been many adaptations in the past, but here is a novel take, a Hollywood way of storytelling of the good versus evil story, filled with romance, love, marriage, separation, union and then the final separation of a prince and the princess. It reflects how she becomes the object of desire by many, and how she exhibits her tremendous inner strength and character in the face of great adversity throughout her lifetime. Despite facing many ordeals, she never lessens her efforts – at great personal cost – to remain an inspiration to the world.”
He adds, “that our society is becoming more receptive to diverse points of view which is why it feels worthwhile to tell the great legend of the ‘Ramayana’ from the feminine vantage point of ‘Princess Sita’, who not only has so much to offer audiences across societies and cultures but also to provide a fresh new take on this celebrated legendary epic- a story every family should know.”
Sathyan and his team have researched extensively for almost eight years and worked on connecting every minute detail to developing Sita’s story into a modern telling of a legendary tale that would resonate with today’s audiences. Talking about the project he added, ‘We are advancing fast with all the pre-production milestones. We don’t want to put a release date and rush to wrap the project, this is a work of respect and admiration which is made once in a lifetime. Hence, we want to give it the time and resources it will take to make one. There is now in society a much greater appreciation for the strength of female protagonists as opposed to outdated storytelling structures where the main female protagonist merely serves to advance the storyline of the male protagonist.”
“The animated format of the movie allows for a greater depth of various storytelling verticals. This can be vividly seen through the role of flora and fauna, forests and jungles, animals and birds that are mentioned extensively in the epic. The audience will surely get a big treat for their eyes to watch more than 180+ plant diversity, and more than 60+ animals, birds and fishes who all have essential roles in this epic.”, he emphasized.
Another striking aspect in the movie is the reference to Sita as a spiritual “North Star” for people around the world to be inspired by. We can all learn that while life will throw adversity at all of us, we can all triumph over adversity by summoning integrity and inner strength.
When a story like Sita is inclusive of inspiring the human spirit, it is a universal resonance with people of all ages. Certainly, there are many considerations of overlapping both appropriate content and delivery of that content, but that’s what so inspires me as a producer – animating the hearts and minds of all ages.
The project is very special and pure from the soul as could be understood from Jainardhan Sathyan’s words of faith and pride in the supremacy of Sita. He sums it up beautifully and gifts the curiosity star twinkling for movie lovers to go watch Princess Sita when it is out for the world to celebrate the essence of womanhood.
The movie is written by Paul Hamilton Magid (“The Guardian Monk”) and follows the life of the Princess from childhood to exile. An excited Paul says “I am drawn to write a modern retelling of the Princess Sita story for so many reasons that inspire audiences of all ages, genders, and nationalities. Sita as a protagonist has not only stood the test of time in resonating with literally hundreds of millions of people in how we can all overcome the adversity we all inevitably face, but it’s almost as if she was waiting for society to catch up to her and truly value women’s incredible courage, strength, integrity, and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. It is my pleasure to manifest the timeless Sita for modern audiences everywhere.”
Sathyan comes to the movie from recently released action thriller “Vendetta,” starring Bruce Willis and Thomas Jane. His other work includes “Archenemy”, “The Matchmaker’s Playbook,” “The Trouble with Mistletoe,” and “God’s Club”.
