Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama is a 1992 anime film co-produced by Japan and India; produced and directed by Yugo Sako. It is based on the Indian epic Ramayana.[2][3] The film was directed by Koichi Sasaki and Ram Mohan, with music composed by Vanraj Bhatia. Although it was banned in India during the Babri Masjid riots, it was later dubbed in Hindi and aired on DD National.

The king of Ayodhya, Dasharatha is forced by his third wife Kaikeyi, on the basis of a boon promised by himself, to exile prince Rama for 14 years, where Rama, along with his brother Lakshmana and wife Sita, departs from Ayodhya and starts a new life in the forests of Panchavati until Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, abducts Sita in order to retaliate Rama for his sister, Shurpanakha's dishonor. Not finding Sita at the hut where they resided, Rama and Lakshmana set out to rescue Sita and find Jatayu, who tells him about Sita's abduction committed by Ravana. Moving on, they find Hanuman and Sugriva, the king of Kishkindha who leads an army of forest dwelling people called Vanaras, and seek their help. The Vanaras are generally depicted as humanoid apes, or human-like beings. They come to know about Ravana's residence in Lanka by Jatayu's elder brother Sampati. Then, the army of Rama forays towards Lanka, defeats Ravana's army and Rama gets his wife back. In the end, Rama along with his people, returns to Ayodhya where the residents of Ayodhya welcome them festively.

In 1983, while working on "The Ramayana Relics" a documentary film about excavations by Dr. B. B. Lal near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh (India) Yugo Sako came to know about the story of Ramayana. He liked the story of the Ramayana so much that he researched deeper into the topic and went on to read 10 versions of the Ramayana in Japanese. After reading the Ramayana he wanted to adapt it into animation as he didn't think a live-action movie could capture the true essence of Ramayana, "Because Ram is God, I felt it was best to depict him in animation, rather than by an actor."[4] TEM Co., Ltd. financed the production and a new production studio Nippon Ramayana Film Co., Ltd. was set up[2][5] and the principal animation of the film began in 1990 with 450 artists on board. Indian animators guided their Japanese teammates with Indian customs and traditions depicted in the film like how dhotis are worn and how the children receive blessings from their elders.[4][6]

There are different songs for the Original English Version (sung in Sanskrit) and the Hindi Dub version (sung in Hindi), both are listed below. The lyrics are written by Vasant Dev (Sanskrit) and P.K. Mishra (Hindi).

The Indian Express published an article about Yugo Sako's "The Ramayana Relics" documentary on 25 April 1983. Soon thereafter, a protest letter based on the misunderstanding from the Vishva Hindu Parishad was received by the Japanese Embassy in Delhi, which said that no foreigners could arbitrarily cinematize Ramayana because it was the great national heritage of India.[7] After the misconceptions were cleared, Yugo Sako proposed the idea of an animated Ramayana to the VHP and the government. He told them that animation was a serious art form in Japan and it would help bring the Ramayana to a wider global audience. The Government agreed initially, but later declined his proposal for a bi-nation collaboration, saying the Ramayana is a very sensitive subject and cannot be portrayed as a cartoon. Also, the fact that the movie was being made at the height of the Ayodhya dispute, added to the controversy and axed the prospects of producing it in India. With no choice and support left, the movie was ultimately produced in Japan with nearly 450 artists from both nations contributing to its creation.[8]

The original English version with Sanskrit songs was worked on by teams from both countries and was screened for the first time at 24th International Film Festival of India, New Delhi, 10–20 January 1993.[9] The film was also shown at the 1993 Vancouver International Film Festival.[10]

The Hindi dub version was released in the late 1990s. Arun Govil, who is popularly known for playing the role of Rama in Ramayan (1987 TV series) voiced Prince Rama in the version. This film was distributed as a work in the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Diplomatic Relations between Japan and India. The film was not released on a large scale as the Ram Janmabhoomi (Birthplace) Movement was at its peak and the movie made into controversy. But later it was released on TV channel Cartoon Network.[11]

It was the opening film of the 2000 Lucca Animation Film Festival in Italy, a highlight of the Cardiff Animation Film Festival in the United Kingdom and won Best Animation Film of the Year at the 2000 Santa Clarita International Film Festival in the United States.

2022 was an important year for both countries as they marked 70 years of India-Japan relations. On the occasion of 70th Anniversary Year, the remaster of this film would be launched during the 5th edition of Japanese Film Festival in India, along with 10 other films.[12]

The specific 2022 edition of the original film is called the Anniversary Edition, which is a 4K Remaster version of the original film with stereo audio and better graphics and visuals as tech use in the original film is old. This is also the first time that this anime movie would be released theatrically, following with releases in DVDs, Blu-rays and OTT platforms.[3][13]

When it was screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival, festival director Alan Franey called the film "Extraordinary", and said "The backgrounds are done in beautiful detail, while the foreground characters are an Indian version of the Disney style, with big dewey eyes."[10]

The film won "Best Animation Film of the Year" award at the Santa Clarita International Family Film Festival.[14] In 2001, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced a new category, Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Ramayana was one of nine films that qualified to be nominated.[15]

Ken Eisner writing in Variety in 1993 was critical of the film, saying the film is "Relentlessly paced, pic has no heart" and "not even great to look at."[16]

It was released in the United States as Warrior Prince or The Prince of Light: The Legend of Ramayana by Krishna Shah,[4][7] further localized English dub with narration by James Earl Jones, prince Rama voiced by Bryan Cranston and additional music by Alan Howarth.[17] That version was released on 9 November 2001.[18]

Robert Koehler reviewed it for Variety, also giving it a critical review. He described the film as a "curious fusion of an interesting if simplified literary adaptation with emphatically second-rate animation technique" and said "the blatantly American vocal casting and direction are painfully out of kilter with the 5,000-year-old Indian setting".[19]