Dreamworks Animation recently announced that they will be making an animated musical based on the Ramayan, a Holy Scripture of the Hindu faith (which can be loosely compared to the Bible or Qu’ran). On board with the film is composer A.R. Rahman (best known for scoring Slumdog Millionaire in the States), Broadway lyricist Stephen Schwartz, and Gurinder Chadha & Paul Berges to get the studio’s first animated feature musical on road.
Uh oh, I smell possible trouble.
It seems like I wasn’t the only one as there is concern amongst folks in the Hindu community that the Dreamworks company, best known for their pop culture generating irreverent animation, will make a mockery of their faith. While it is too early to tell how the company will handle the film, it is good to know that the Hindu community is active on their feet and reaching out to make sure that the film will be careful in handling Hindu concepts and terminology.
I have faith that this film will be funny and at the same time, be respectful of the sources that it draws upon. Because after all, there is about one billion Hindus in this world, and I don’t know about you, but I would hate to get 1 billion people mad at me. Power in numbers is something that cannot be underestimated and it is comforting to know that there are many loud and proud voices out there. If anything, I sincerely hope this film won’t turn into another Love Guru. Now THAT was an epic disaster.
