Return of Hanuman Maker Pins down Salman Khan

Just recently we broke the news that Salman Khan would be lending his own voice to the animated version of his own film Judwaa . Produced once again by Sajid Nadiadwala, the film will have two Salman Khans in the form of caricatures.

Mainstream animation arrived in India with Percept Picture Company’s film Hanuman in 2005. Shailendra Singh, Joint MD Percept Holdings who was, in a way, responsible to initiate the animation trend in India, which has now caught on the frenzy on many producers in Bollywood, has a viewpoint to share when it comes to animation films. “One has to be really careful when venturing into animation”, says Mr. Shailendra. “It takes a lot to get the audience hooked. And for a character which is already known (Salman Khan’s in Judwaa ) it becomes even more difficult.”

Speaking about the past history of such animated films he said, “Whenever anyone has attempted it, they have failed. Polar Express was a failure where Tom Hanks’ image was used and so was Jackie Chan’s animated cartoon series. So it is not highly recommended to animate an actor.”

But he goes on to add, “However, Sajid Nadiadwala is a very successful producer and I am sure he knows what he is doing. We all have a lot to learn from him.”

Percept Picture Company has ‘ Return of Hanuman ’ lined up for release next Friday and are also in the process of producing ‘ The Return of Ravana ’ to release in 2008. Apart from that Shailendra Singh also has a secret animated film on hand which he is yet to reveal. And clearly they are competing with Yash Raj Film’s animated film Roadside Romeo . “It will be Percept’s first complete 3D animated film and will be based in a jungle. And we will arrive before Yash Raj’s dog”, says Singh referring to the dog’s character in Roadside Romeo .

“We don’t like competition so we are coming before Yash Raj’s Roadside Romeo . We gave life to the animated films market in India and we should know our competition. We can’t stay behind. Believe me when we announce the director’s name Yash Raj will be taken aback”, concludes Shailendra Singh.