Recreation appreciated if it's not an imitation: Shilpa Ranade

Filmmaker Shilpa Ranade, who has come up with the animation film "Goopy Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya", says recreating any cult story gets appreciation if it offers something new.

"Goopy Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya" is inspired by a children's literature piece by iconic filmmaker Satyajit Ray's grandfather, Ranade said.

"Firstly, when I am making 'Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya' in animation, I am giving the audience a chance to reimagine these characters and the story in their own way, because in animation, the visual references are not the same as that of a regular feature film.

"Secondly, a recreation is appreciated if it offers something new, and not an imitation of the original," Ranade told IANS here.

People, she said, won't be interested in watching a copied work.

"If I am making a film which is a frame-to-frame copy of the original work, why should people show interest in watching that?"

But recreating such works is not easy.

Recently, director Madhur Bhandarkar faced a lot of criticism on social media after news emerged that he will present a movie which takes forward Ray's iconic "The Apu Trilogy" series.

However, Ranade didn't receive any backlash and even got praised by Ray's son Sandip, who launched the film's poster.

On "Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya", Ranade clearly stated that her film is not an adaptation of Ray's "Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne", which released 50 years ago.

"We have taken the core story and interpreted in our way. This is how we can relive the original story, and the new generation of children can enjoy the story that had been written ages ago.

"The original story holds a strong value of children's entertainment, and these days, we rarely get such a piece of literature," she added.

"Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya" is scheduled to release on March 1.

--IANS

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