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As released by THE TIMES OF INDIA, [BUSINESS TIMES] Friday, April 21, 2000 Raj Kapoor, MGR to live again - virtually Business Times Bureau CHENNAI: Raj Kapoor and MGR will come alive in the year 2001. Yes they are coming together in a brand new film that will also feature dazzling new heroines and support stars and some well known faces of the screen today. Sounds crazy? Then listen to this. If you decide to view the film on the Internet, you could choose the kind of ending you like - sad or happy; you could decide whether you would like to see RK and MGR in singles roles or doubles roles; you could select their costumes and, what's more, you could even choose the film's various backgrounds. Path-breaking new digital animation technology, combined with the powers of broadband Internet, is set to bring all this and more - for the first time in the world. And the action is all happening here, in India. The project - which will combine legendary virtual artists with famous live artists for a 90-minute duration - is the brainchild of multimedia major PentaMedia Graphics Ltd. and US-Based 3dMaxMedia Inc., who have created a 50-50 joint venture to produce this and, hopefully many more similar films. Hewlett-Packard is to be the technology partner for the ventures first film, and will provide high-performance visualise workstations and the e-services framework to deliver their unique project. "Nothing with this kind of vision has been done anywhere in the world. It's hugely exciting. And And my excitement is not so much about bring people like Raj Kapoor and MGR alive on the screen, but about what a visionary project like this could do to India's image abroad," says Hewlett-Packard India president Ganesh Ayyar. According to him, a successful completion of the film could completely transform the views of people overseas regarding India's capabilities in the area - both technical and manpower - and thus bring significant benefits to the country. The film, which is yet to be titled, will be a family entertainer and is expected to cost $3 Million (excluding actors fees). The target id to complete the project in nine months. The film is currently in its pre-production stage. Well known Tamil Comedy playwright Crazy Mohan is working on the first draft of the script ( or scripts, since there are going to be different story-lines). The film will be released in Hindi, Tamil and English versions. 3dMaxMedia president and CEO Srinivasan said he did not expect any legal issues to arise on account of their use of digitally-created Raj Kapoor or MGR in the film."Indian laws do not place any restrictions on this. We'll nonetheless talk to the families concerned," he said. PentaMedia and 3dMaxMedia are in the process of putting together the entire film crew. Interestingly, the actresses approached are wary about acting with Raj Kapoor and MGR. "They think they might not be able to match their caliber," Mr. Srinivasan said. No effort is being spared to get the best out of RK and MGR. PentaMedia has already set up a 100 member digital animation team for the project. The project will also be backed by experts from Hollywood and yes, a leading dentist of Chennai, Dr. Janakiraman, who will provide advise on facial gestures, expressions and dental special effects. "We'll
also make MGR do dance sequences which are humanly impossible to do,
but which still delight viewers. That's another advantage of this kind
of technology," says Mr. Srinivasan. For More Information
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