Want to watch Yugo Sako's 'Ramayana' theatrically? Sign this form!
What's the story
When the heavily-criticized film Adipurush released last month, Indian cinephiles immediately started comparing it to Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, saying it's the "superior version."
Planned and produced by Yugo Sako, the Indo-Japanese film had a limited theatrical Indian release in 1997.
Now, the makers have asked Indian audiences for support so the 1993 film can be released theatrically on a larger scale.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Adipurush's alleged misrepresentation of mythological figures, pedestrian dialogues, lack of imaginative detailing, and urban characters didn't sit right with the Indian audience, who even protested on the roads against the film, claiming their religious sentiments had been hurt.
This triggered another conversation—about how Sako, despite hailing from Japan—could make a film that appealed to the Indian audience effectively and struck all the right chords.
Form
Mythological epic is ready with 4K version
The Ramayana makers shared a Google Form saying, "This is the request form for Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama, the anime film co-produced by Japan and India."
"Please kindly let us know what you would like to enjoy in the high-quality 4K digitally remastered version, which has never been released in India before."
Notably, only the original English-dubbed version has been digitally remastered.
Twitter poll
Form offers several options to makers
Besides the Google Form, the makers have asked Twitter users to pick one from 20 most-populated Indian cities where they would prefer to watch it. A similar poll is being run on YouTube.
In the aforementioned form, the makers have also asked viewers—if not in theaters—whether they would like to watch the film on TV, read a book about it, or own its merchandise.
Reactions
Fans already can't wait to watch film
The first tweet in this thread has been viewed over 20K times so far, and people have responded enthusiastically, asking the makers to collaborate with Indian distributors.
One fan tweeted, "Dream to watch it on a huge [1.85:1] aspect ratio screen. People will flood the theatres. It's great that the movie studio is ready with a 4K DCP but annoying that cinemas are ignoring!"
The movie
Know more about movie's voice cast, crew
The film was co-produced by Japan and India and co-directed by Koichi Sasaki and Ram Mohan (known as the father of Indian animation).
Per the official website, its production commenced in 1984 and wrapped up in 1992.
Currently, the Hindi dubbed version is available on YouTube. Arun Govil (Rama), Amrish Puri (Ravana), and Shatrughan Sinha (narrator) were part of the Hindi version's voice cast.