The first look of music composer and writer Ramesh Thamilmani’s upcoming work Atharva: The Origin was recently unveiled. It is being touted as India’s first three-dimensional graphic novel with a realistic visual interpretation of about 150 scenes.
What has captured attention is former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni as a mythological superhero on the cover of the novel. Quiz the writer about what made him rope the sportsperson and he says, “Since the scale is big, we wanted a big name to take it to the next level. And MSD was the right person. We always wanted him but getting him on-board felt like a distant dream.”
He adds, “Being a real-life hero, he is the perfect fit for the character of a superhero in the novel. He didn’t only give us his face but also collaborated with us in a big way. He contributed to an extent which we never expected.”
Talking about what sets it apart from regular comic books, Thamilmani says, “We’ve created 3D models of characters. We hired stunts men to show us action sequences and draw them. It was a time-consuming process and was more like a pre-production for a film.”
The first look has also received love from Thamilmani’s childhood friend and graphic designer-filmmaker Soundarya Rajinikanth. So, did he ever consider actor Rajinikanth for Atharva? “When we spoke to Rajini sir about it, he was doing Kochadaiiyaan (2014). So, we didn’t want him to do something similar because it was also an animated film,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}The first look has also received love from Thamilmani’s childhood friend and graphic designer-filmmaker Soundarya Rajinikanth. So, did he ever consider actor Rajinikanth for Atharva? “When we spoke to Rajini sir about it, he was doing Kochadaiiyaan (2014). So, we didn’t want him to do something similar because it was also an animated film,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}Thamilmani now wants to take the novel places and maybe even translate it into a film someday. “There’s a plan. The book has to be received well and currently, we’re concentrating on it. We would want to foray into merchandising and gaming too,” he ends.