Return of the Jungle, an animated feature film directed by Vaibhav Kumaresh, marks a sparkling, bright spot on the Indian animation landscape. At a recent screening of the film at MIFF, the audience greatly exceeded the theatre’s capacity. I watched the film seated on a crowded step among many other people; animators, students, film buffs, friends and the film crew.
The film connected with everyone and the energy was palpable. There was laughter, empathy, vibrant storytelling, relatable characters and several throwbacks to childhood memories and experiences. This is a children’s film with a big heart and universal appeal.
Historically, making independent animation in India has been challenging, with almost no state or industry funding and limited possibilities. In such an environment, to pull off a feature length animation film that is self-funded and supported solely by the conviction and talent of a small pool of animators, is something to laud and salute.
It has been 16 years in the making, with the crew alternating between commercial work to bring in funds and then going back to working on the film in spurts. This band of intrepid people have lived the values the film underlines — friendship, strength and enthusiasm.
Return of the Jungle is about a small group of friends, all well-etched characters, grappling with the little and big things that play out in a school environment. The camaraderie is established in how they come together to resolve momentous events in their everyday lives; whether it is a fancy dress competition, facing up to a bully, playing a cricket match or nursing a friend back to health.
Their ally is a warm grandfather who is an avid gardener, living in an idyllic wooden log home on stilts and whose garden is regularly decimated by goats. He doesn’t give up, and always has a Panchatantra story to tell them that helps them understand and resolve their hurdles.
These Panchatantra stories mix seamlessly into the narrative and the anthropomorphic characters go from being animals to almost human with great ease. They speak and act like humans with all the flaws and endearing qualities that mirror and mimic us. Their quirks, very regular and sometimes idiosyncratic names, and the use of colloquial language make for much humour.
The three worlds the film inhabits seem to blend very naturally, the city seems to abut the forest with the grandfather’s garden home connecting the two spaces, as a sort of portal between the real and the imagined. Much of the humour in the film is in the spoken word, as also in body language. The acting of all characters is exemplary, with the greatest attention to detail. Nothing is ignored or papered over, however excruciating it must have proved to animate.
Animators after all, are said to be actors on the inside, albeit with a wicked side to them. Every expression on the face, the toss of the head, narrowing of eyes are expressive and key to making characters unique. What was astonishing was that this treatment was meted out across the board and no secondary or even tertiary character was a cardboard cutout — each one had life and blood and nuance.
The music is brilliant, the film is interspersed with songs, a background score and musical interludes. This eclectic tapestry lifts the film and gives it life-like energy. Three music directors have given it their signature styles, which, though very different from each other, seem to complement one another wonderfully. The sound holds all the fragments of the story in a well knit embrace.
The film refers to popular culture and engages the audience via the ubiquitously loved game of cricket and the world of Hindi cinema. Cricket and films are what bind our diverse country in an unbreakable hold. The plot plays out around a school cricket match, which is a test of grit and character more than a win or lose competition. All is healed in the end in a dramatic Hindi movie sequence where music cuts across all divisions and has the power to mend. All three worlds are at peace, everyone is able to leave their differences aside and life goes on in all its flawed glory.
Return of the Jungle marks the return of a real children’s film, one that is about children, for children and most importantly, one that is told in a child-like manner. Animation in India has a long history, though unfortunately one that has had few milestones. One has to wait and watch to see if the film has a release in theatres and on television, and the opportunity to be encountered by the large Indian audience it has been so lovingly crafted for. The burgeoning of many new animation schools and the great interest in getting an animation education today points to the huge potential for growth in this industry.
To match this, it is imperative that more opportunities are made available to find funds to make more indigenous content that can springboard from our rich collective consciousness, life experiences, heritage, roots, popular culture, arts and robust storytelling traditions.
The writer is animation filmmaker and professor at IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay
