Ashoka - The Hero - Pre-Production

Pre-Production | Production | Post-production

Pre-Production

Synopsis: The film is the story of a young boy Ashoka who wants to grow up and help others. His inspiration is his father, a policeman, who died in the line of duty. Ashoka finds a powerful medallion created by the Emperor Asoka after the war of Kalinga to protect mankind from self destruction and evil. On obtaining these powers, he becomes a super hero. But he must learn to use his powers and help others. How he fights off the corruption of power and saves the city from destruction is what the rest of the film is all about.

Ashoka the Hero is the result of intense effort, we have tried to do something which has not been done before for Indian audiences. Creating India’s first animated superhero has required quite a few super heroic feats from the production standpoint as well. Considering our limitations with regards to time and most of all budgets, its quite amazing that the film got made. Despite the difficulties, we have put together an honest and entertaining film and it would not have been possible without the effort of everyone involved.    - Gaurav Jain

An interesting aspect about the film is how the kid is shown as just another kid you would find in your neighborhood or in the school. The concept was to make other kids relate to Ashoka and learn from the way he manages to use great power with great responsibility, even at such a young age. This was the focus of the team which created Ashoka and they have succeeded to a great level as proved by the international acclaims that the film has received.

Speaking to CG Today, the director Gaurav Jain said that Ashoka was conceptualized to attract the attention of children in India, who follow foreign superheroes devotedly. There was initial success in the form of selection for the 1st NASSCOM Super Pitch in Hyderabad. This was followed by success at the 1st X media lab where the makers of the film got a chance to rub shoulders with acclaimed personalities like Matt Costello. This turn of events, according to the director, led to some refining of the script and changes that augured well for this superhero project, slated to hit the theatres soon.

Speaking on conceptualization, Gaurav, the director told us how the concept art for this film started even before the script was finalized. The character itself was steady and locked and didn’t alter much in the course of the development. One of the best things that have come out is the idea for short animation testing, which proved to be a saving grace according to the director on many occasions. This was largely because the animation test helped identify wrong turns. This animation test was helpful in figuring out the way the characters would fight and move.

Ashoka's First Test Animation Shots: