More than a year has passed since the first installment made it to the cinemas. The three kids - Amna, Saadi and Kamil - have grown.
More than a year has passed since the first installment made it to the cinemas. The three kids - Amna, Saadi and Kamil - have grown. The subject matter, matured. A tour of Waadi Animations just days before the launch of their new film, 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam, gave us a glimpse of the company’s approach to animated content in Pakistan and their slow and steady climb to success.
The scriptwriter talks
As excitement builds up in the last couple of days, individuals working behind the scenes are likely to be a mixed bag of emotions. There may be a lack of animated films in the industry. But if they are to attract the audiences the second time round, they have to offer something, and not just bank on beginner’s luck.
“We are our own competitors. We’ve worked harder than we did at that time,” Kamran Khan, script writer and head of production, said. “Sharmeen had told us to depict Pakistani society, the problems that we face, to focus on the daily life. While the film is meant for children, we were instructed to keep in mind the adults who would be accompanying them. The film, therefore, had to be entertaining for the older people as well. You’ll find the story full of important messages for everyone.
“I was very careful of the language I used. I wanted to keep Urdu simple and without distortion so that everybody would be able to enjoy it.”
V-effects junkies flock together
The real eye-candy in this film is definitely the v-effects. This department is where everything related to physics, particle simulation, soft body, rigid body, things falling, or demolishing, etc. comes to life. This is where you find the four people - yeah, a small team - doing their best to do some really good effects compared to the previous part.
The V-effects team of Waadi animations and 3 Bahadur series talked to Us: “In the last movie, there were like three effects scenes; in this movie, it has like 12. Some of the effects used I think have never been done in Pakistan, like fluid simulation. It’s not the same as those used in the local mineral water commercials. We’ve made a whole ocean and characters are running on water, which is like a big plus besides things being blown up and fire simulations.
“It’s the most expensive thing in 3D, even in Hollywood. It took us around three to four months to create the ocean scene. It’s too heavy - only the V-effects data took up four hard drives in 4TB capacities; 16TB for particle simulation only! And then you can add renders and other files. It was just one scene, of what five minutes of movie? And it consumed 80TB of our data!
“For the sequel, even the characters are enhanced, too.”
A somewhat similar opinion was expressed by the sound department: “There aren’t many professionals who can properly score a film in Pakistan. We have already worked with another team (Sound Square) in the US and it was pleasant collaborating with them. But the thing is, they are not from here and 3 Bahadur: Revenge of Baba Balaam is extremely localized. We had no choice, therefore, but to send them detailed notes for each scene to help them get a hang of the sort of music we wanted. There would be back and forth sessions until everything clicked.”
Perfectionists at work
When it comes to the young stars, the 3 Bahadur, age is really just a number. You don’t see a 15 or 16 year old when you see Zuhab Khan and Arisha Razi. Despite their years of exposure to the industry, success hasn’t gone to their heads; they are still so dedicated! Like the rest of the team, they fit into their roles perfectly.
Maybe it was because it wasn’t their (read Zuhab’s) first venture:
“I used to record every dialogue six to seven times. They would choose the best one. When we are recording our voices, we are naturally frustrated by recording dialogues again and again. To us, the last one sounds as flawless as the first one. It’s only when we watch the movie that we regret such attitude, regret not putting in more energy to make the dialogue delivery sound better.”
Or maybe, like Arisha gushed as newbie to the art of voice-over:
“I used to be so conscious that I would tell them to stop me if I was doing wrong. When the first movie was about to be released, I was so nervous, whether it would be fine or not.”
Finders, keepers
“This is the first time that I’ve written a script. I’m not a professional writer. Personally, I like watching cartoons and superhero stuff (Tom and Jerry, Powerpuff girls) with my daughters. When it comes to our industry, we don’t have that many writers catering specifically to children. And of the few that we do have, they weren’t good enough for 3 Bahadur. I penned what I saw around me, the good and the bad both.” - Kamran Khan
Hmm, sounds like something Quentin Tarantino would suggest: be an observer of the human condition; pay attention to the ways that people around you speak and behave; [listen] to the little voice inside saying, ‘Tell the truth’ [and] reveal a few secrets.
“It feels really good and we’re really proud of ourselves. I worked in Pakistan for many years, and there was a buzz all the time ‘we are making animation movie’, but nothing transpired. Finally, something has happened. It’s a new beginning for our industry, and we are the ones who took the first step in making this a reality. So, I feel really proud. And I would encourage others in the industry as well; mushkil hai lekin na-mumkin nahi! Look at us; we are like 35 people, working and raising the bar with each movie.”
Surprise!
“I see a very bright future ahead. One animated movie, which did well in the box office, encouraged us to go and do another one. And whatever the outcome of this film will be, we are going to do the third one; we have already begun working on that!” Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy exclaimed in response to the question regarding her opinion about future of animation in Pakistan.
Working with Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, CEO Waadi Animations
“It was a delightful experience. She had given me the freehand to work on whatever and in however way I chose to. She never had a bossy attitude. She would discuss everything with the team and everyone was allowed to give their suggestions, and if the general consensus was in favour of the said feedback, she would accept it without any delay.” - Kamran Khan
“Fantastic. Normally, people complain about their workplace; I really mean it when I say I don’t.” How rewarding is this? “There’s nothing like it, to be able to create something which has so much thought and effort, is so meaningful.
“It’s the ‘best-est’ experience of my life. It’s like family. You give to the place, plus you learn also; you build something together.” - Maha Abdul Alam, senior concept artist
“I feel she is an artist. Like an artist would use any medium - pastels, oil, etc. When I started working with her and the sort of work I’ve seen [her do], it is very diversified. From animation to serious documentaries that make you cry, that make you feel how women feel in this industry, it’s huge. This is about women; this is about kids. So, she is an artist and she is doing very well.” - Sarwat Gilani as Saadi’s mother
“She is a very genuine person. I have met a lot of people; she knows what she is doing. It was never difficult to work with her. This is the quality of genuine people. She gives more space and freedom.” - Fahad Mustafa as Imran
“If this movie hadn’t been released, I feel we would have gone back to 70s or 80s era and then no one would have dared to make such a film in Pakistan for another 20 years.” - Kamran Khan talking about 3 Bahadur
“We need good universities here in Pakistan. We don’t have any Bachelors or Masters programme. We need riggers, we need character specialized animators, we need visual effects artists. There is so much waiting to be explored.
“Plus, the technology. The West is working on super and mainframe computers whereas we are stuck with 8GB RAM computers. It’s a huge tech difference. In this scenario, we can add another term - tolerance - to the Triple-T (team, time and technology) involved.”
- Animation team laments
“Anyone with a heart and soul will be the target audience” - Sarwat Gilani
