Pugmarks on the Hindi sci-fi screen

doweshowbellyad=0; Kapil Sharma (TOI Photo) Tinsel town is already excited about the technological tricks that Harry Baweja will use for the two personal robots, Bionic Omni Operator and Quintessential Terrestrial, that have been created specially for his Love Story 2050.
Goldie Behl has roped in one of Hollywood���s best special effects man, Charles Darby (he made his name with movies like Titanic, Fifth Element, Minority Report, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and the Harry Potter series), for his Rs 55-crore extravaganza titled Drona.Shooting for Ayesha Takia���s Jaaney Kahan Se Aayi Hai, where she plays the role of a girl from Venus, will begin in the middle of this year. And now, there is news of yet another science fiction titled Mr Ramprasad that will feature a pug! Needless to say, this science fiction could easily qualify as being the first of its kind in India to employ computer graphics techniques that have a pug as a central character.
Says Kapil Sharma, who has been pencilled to play the title role of the film, ���One can call this an updated version of Mr India. The film is about a simply guy who gets empowered the moment he wears an accessory. What sets this film apart from Mr India is that we are working in today���s dateline. Hence, our special effects will be far more modern than Mr India���s productions. Most importantly, apart from one person who gets empowered, the storyline also includes an animal who goes through the same transformation. So, if Ramprasad is shown flying or walking on water, the animal too will have to be shown doing the same.���
Ask Sharma why a pug caught their fancy and he says, ���We wanted to use an animal in the film. Since spitz and dobermann have been used in Hindi films, we wanted to use another dog that would be different and liked by kids as well. The pug looks cute in advertisements and Hindi films haven���t used it as yet. If the pug is shown doing funny things, kids will lap it up. As for the name of the pug, we might use the name we had for our pet pomeranian. He used to be called Ladoo. The idea is to use computer graphics on the big screen for mine and Ladoo���s character to create an effect similar to what Tintin and Snoopy generate on print. Just as Snoopy has a comment to make on everything that Tintin does, Ladoo too, will have a comment to make on everything that I do,��� adds Kapil.
As if that isn���t enough, the pug will also be shown getting romantic in a scene when he meets his girlfriend (another pug)! So, how does one spot the right pug for the film that will be made on a budget of Rs 30-40 crore? Will there be auditions for that too? Says Sanjay Sharma, the director of the film, ���We haven���t zeroed in on exactly how we will go about the whole process. Scripting is on and we shall decide on that once my Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro gets released. Because of the animal rights��� rules, we could just go ahead with computer-generated images. With improved techniques, I���m sure a computer-generated image will look as convincing as a real pug. The idea of the film is to marry the effects of Mask, Spiderman and Harry Potter. But finally, it will be a very desi film.���