Rajiv Ruia speaks about My Friend Ganesha 3 and more
Being a sequel to the popular composite film My Friend Ganesha part 1&2 that released within the last two years, this film is expected to do as well as the previous one which is said to have aired 156 times on satellite television in two year. To find out more we talk to director Rajiv S Ruia to learn about why he chose to experiment with animation and how his experience was while making his first composite film.
When
did
you
first
decide
to
make
a
composite
animation
film?
I
am
a
huge
fan
of
Lord
Ganesha
and
my
producers
wanted
to
make
a
film
for
children
and
specifically
on
Ganesha.
So
we
decided
to
experiment
and
make
a
composite
film
where
a
live
action
character
and
an
animated
Ganesha
would
be
merged
in
one
film.
Being
our
first
composite
animated
film,
there
were
many
difficulties
such
as
how
to
make
a
live
actor,
that
too
a
child,
talk
in
an
empty
frame
and
make
him
dance
with
the
non-
existent
animated
character,
etc.
So
we
first
shot
an
experimental
scene
and
did
composite
animation
in
it.
When
we
were
convinced
that
it
would
be
successful,
we
went
ahead
to
plan
the
whole
film.
What
kind
of
research
did
you
do
before
making
the
film?
I
had
studied
many
Hollywood
composite
films
before
starting
work
on
the
film.
I
have
got
a
lot
of
inspiration
from
these
films.
One
such
film
was
Scooby
Doo
from
which
I
gained
a
lot
of
knowledge
on
how
to
make
composite
films.
The
film
had
a
3D
animated
dog
in
a
live
action
environment
and
it
was
very
interesting
to
see
how
the
shots
were
created.
Which
other
films
have
you
worked
on
before
My
Friend
Ganesha?
My
first
film
was
a
commercial
action
film
called
Mission
Bombay
where
I
had
launched
Sonu
Sood
as
an
actor.
After
that,
My
Friend
Ganesha
was
my
second
film.
I
have
made
many
music
videos
and
commercial
advertisements.
My
mentor
was
a
very
great
director
in
the
South,
Vijay
Reddy,
who
had
made
Teri
Meherbania
and
many
other
films.
As
an
editor
too,
I
had
confidence
in
the
experiment
and
so
I
went
on
to
make
a
composite
film.
What
challenges
did
you
face
when
making
My
Friend
Ganesha
1-2
and
3?
We
didn't
come
across
many
challenges
in
Part
1&2
because
all
the
difficulties
had
already
been
experienced
in
Part
1
.
The
biggest
difficulty
in
Part
1
was
to
make
a
child
act
in
such
a
way
as
though
someone
is
standing
in
front
of
him
when
actually
there
is
no
one.
For
that
we
had
to
make
some
sketch
work
to
show
the
child
where
the
animated
character
would
be
standing
and
what
reaction
it
would
have
at
each
instant.
The
child
then
would
have
to
keep
that
in
mind
when
acting.
Could
you
describe
the
shots
in
part
3
that
were
difficult
to
make?
Part
3
is
India's
first
full
3D
composite
animation
movie.
It"s
a
challenge.
To
me
every
shot
between
Ganesha
and
3D
animated
Ganesha
is
difficult
to
shoot.
How
important
is
it
to
coordinate
with
the
animation
studio?
Shooting
a
composite
scene
without
online
animators
is
very
difficult.
It's
very
important
to
have
animators
with
you
on
set
all
the
time.
We
had
an
animation
director
with
us
throughout.
You
tend
to
shoot
a
scene
in
your
own
way
but
an
animation
director
can
tell
you
whether
that
scene
can
be
animated
or
not
and
how
we
should
shoot
it
to
make
it
possible.
Were
all
your
scenes
pre
planned
or
were
there
some
last
minute
changes?
Many
times
there
were
last
minute
changes
but
those
changes
would
be
made
only
after
taking
the
advice
of
the
whole
team
and
discussing
it
over
with
the
team.
In
My
Friend
Ganesha
the
looks
of
Lord
Ganesha
keep
changing
with
the
sequels.
What
kind
of
role
do
you
play
in
the
character
design?
In
a
composite
film,
once
the
look
of
the
character
is
decided
and
locked,
it
remains
that
way
throughout
the
film.
Here
the
most
difficult
part
was
the
model
design
and
finalizing
the
look
of
the
character.
The
character
design
was
not
exactly
how
I
had
envisioned
it.
Animation
is
such
a
medium
that
you
cannot
make
out
on
paper,
exactly
how
the
character
will
look
in
the
film.
The
whole
picture
gets
clear
only
after
the
character
comes
on
the
screen.
In
live
action,
during
editing,
if
you
want
to
include
a
close
up
shot,
you
can
take
a
cut
out
and
incorporate
it
in
the
scene.
However,
in
animation
this
is
not
possible
and
if
one
shot
is
missing,
you
need
to
do
the
entire
scene
again.
We
came
across
some
such
problems
even
in
part
two
where
we
had
to
go
backwards
to
change
some
scenes,
which
was
the
reason
the
film
got
delayed.
Was
there
a
dummy
of
the
animated
character
made?
Yes
we
had
made
a
dummy
mainly
for
the
magnification
of
the
camera.
Many
a
times
when
you
have
to
use
a
trolley
shot
in
an
empty
frame,
we
would
have
to
erase
the
dummy.
To
avoid
that,
we
had
locked
the
magnification
of
the
camera.
We
had
also
used
chroma
screens
in
many
difficult
shots
such
as
one
where
Ganesha
and
lord
Ganesha
were
both
on
a
boat.
So
is
the
whole
family
your
target
audience
for
the
film?
We
counted
family
as
only
30
per
cent
of
our
target
audience.
The
main
target
is
children
under
12
years
of
age.
In
part
two,
Ganesha
has
a
new
modern
look
and
is
speaking
English.
Was
this
pre
decided
when
making
part
one?
We
just
felt
that
in
part
one,
Ashu
had
taught
Ganesha
some
English.
So
when
he
would
come
down
on
Earth
in
part
two
and
not
know
English,
it
would
look
absurd.
And
the
look
that
we
have
designed
this
time
is
different.
In
part
one,
we
had
shown
a
middle
class
family
where
a
boy
would
imagine
Ganesha
as
God.
In
part
two,
we
have
modern
boy
who
does
not
believe
in
God
but
if
he
would
imagine
God,
he
would
think
of
Him
in
his
own
way,
coming
on
skates
or
a
bike
and
with
tattoos.
It
was
not
pre
planned,
but
it
just
came
with
the
concept.
What
are
your
plans
for
the
licensing
and
merchandising
for
the
film?
To
whom
does
the
IP
for
the
films
belong?
The
IP
for
the
films
belongs
to
the
producers,
Baba
Arts
limited.
We
do
have
merchandising
plans.
We
had
tied-up
with
a
company
,for
the
first
film
which
included
Ganesha
masks,
toys,
rakhis,
T-Shirts,
etc.
The
merchandising
for
the
current
film
is
now
underway,
to
be
released
in
Vaction,
which
will
also
have
T-shirts,
toys,
caps
etc
What
is
going
to
happen
in
Part
Four
?
Part
three
has
already
been
announced
and
in
that
we
are
going
to
have
a
very
unique
concept
from
parts
one
two
and
three.
In
the
previous
films,
Ganesha
used
to
go
to
those
kids
that
needed
help
and
were
calling
for
him.
In
this
one,
Ganesha
himself
will
find
the
kid
in
need
and
go
to
him.
Could
you
tell
us
a
little
about
the
concept
and
character
design
o
the
film.
Right
now
the
film
is
at
a
very
initial
stage
and
the
character
design
takes
at
least
three
months
to
finalize.
However,
the
concept
and
character
look
this
time
will
be
very
unique
and
we
have
thought
of
using
animation
in
a
very
different
style.
What
do
you
think
of
composite
films
as
a
genre?
I
feel
that
composite
films
are
really
appreciated
by
the
audience
as
seen
in
the
results
of
this
film.
Yesterday
itself,
in
one
day,
we
sold
one
lakh
DVD
copies.
It'
a
record
of
sorts.
Another
record
was
set
by
part
one
of
the
film
which
was
aired
156
times
on
satellite.
We
are
expecting
maximum
TRPs
for
the
satellite
broadcast
of
the
sequel,
as
was
the
case
with
part
one
&
two.
Do
you
feel
that
animation
as
a
medium
is
better
or
easier
than
live
action?
Every
medium
has
its
own
characteristics,
in
a
completely
animated
film,
you
do
get
engrossed
but
you
look
at
it
as
animation.
In
this
film,
with
the
animated
character
coming
to
the
live
action
actor,
the
experience
was
created
where
you
feel
that
the
character
is
actually
coming
to
you.
In
fact
we
have
heard
of
many
children
beginning
to
do
daily
pooja
after
watching
our
film.
Your
comments
on
animation
market
in
India?
There
have
been
many
animated
films
that
have
been
made
till
today,
however
Hanuman
was
the
one
which
was
really
liked
by
the
audience.
Hum
Tum
which
also
had
animation;
was
really
appreciated.
Now
that
so
many
films
are
lined
up
for
release,
there
will
be
some
at
least
that
will
be
liked
and
appreciated
in
the
market.
There
must
be
some
good
business
in
the
industry,
because
there
are
so
many
animated
films
lined
up
for
production
now.
Do
you
think
you
get
good
ROI
in
a
film
which
used
animation?
Part
one
had
a
budget
of
two
and
a
half
crores
part
two
had
a
budget
of
4to
5
crores
while
the
budget
of
the
current
film
was
around
7
to
8
crores.
However
we
had
planned
the
film
and
budget
keeping
the
returns
in
mind.
The
previous
part
1&
2
film
had
been
very
successful
and
we
were
sure
to
have
good
ROI
from
the
thirdSS
film.
Which
are
the
other
projects
apart
from
My
Friend
Ganesha
that
you
are
working
on?
Apart
from
this,
I
am
working
on
two
parallel
films,
one
is
Tarzan
the
wonder
car,
a
sequel
of
the
live
action
Hindi
film
Tarzan
which
will
be
again
a
3D
animation
cum
live
action
composite
film.
Much
if
the
pre
production
work
of
the
film
has
been
completed
and
we
will
commence
the
shooting
by
May
end.
I
think
that
the
kids
will
enjoy
the
gimmicks
of
the
car
done
in
the
film.
Additionally,
there
is
quite
a
bit
of
liberty
when
working
with
3D,
which
is
not
available
in
2D.
In
3D
what
ever
a
live
action
character
can
do,
we
can
create
in
3D,
while
2D
has
many
limitation.
In
this
film,
the
car
will
have
a
60
per
cent
realistic
look
and
40
per
cent
cartoony
look
and
I
feel
that
even
adults
will
enjoy
it.