Ram Mohan

Ram Mohan
Born(1931-08-26)26 August 1931[1]
Died11 October 2019(2019-10-11) (aged 88)
Mumbai, Maharashtra
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Animator
Founder, Graphiti Multimedia (1995)
Known forYou Said It (1972)
Fire Games (1983)
Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992)
Meena (1993–2001)
AwardsPadma Shri (2014)

Ram Mohan (26 August 1931 – 11 October 2019) was an Indian animator, title designer and design educator, who was also known as father of Indian Animation[2] and was a veteran in the Indian animation industry, who started his career at the Cartoon Films Unit, Films Division of India, Government of India in 1956.[3] He was chairman and chief creative officer at Graphiti Multimedia, a Mumbai-based animation company which was established in 1995, and later he also established the Graphiti School of Animation in 2006.[1]

He had won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Animation Film twice, You Said It (1972) and Fire Games (1983).[4] He was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the 2006 Mumbai International Film Festival[5] and was awarded the Padma Shri the fourth-highest civilian award given by Government of India in 2014.[6][7]

Early life and education

Graduated in Chemistry from the University of Madras and later moved to Mumbai for his post-graduate studies but gave it up to join the Cartoon Films Unit, Films Division, Government of India in 1956. He received training in animation techniques from Clair Weeks of Walt Disney Studios, under the US Technical Aid program. Weeks was at the time serving a two-year stint as the head of the Cartoon Films Unit. Another important person to join at the same time was Bhimsain Khurana, who also became a notable animator (Ek Anek Aur Ekta).[8]

Career

Mohan worked as an animator with the Films division till the late 1960s, and thereafter founded Ram Mohan Biographics, in 1972. It ultimately merged with UTV Toons, a division of United Studios Limited (USL) in 1998.[9]

Mohan started out by doing character design and story boards for This Our India, an animated film adapted from a book by Minoo Masani.[10] He scripted, designed and animated many of Cartoon Film unit's productions from 1960 to 1967, including 'Homo Saps' which won the National Award for Best Experimental Film, 1967, and 'Chaos' which won an Award at the Leipzig Festival of short Films in 1968. He participated in the 1967 world retrospective of Animation Cinema in Montreal.

In 1968 he left Films Division and joined Prasad Productions as chief of their animation division. In 1972, he established his own production company, Ram Mohan Biographics, which worked on commercials, and the animated feature Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama (1992), which he co-directed in collaboration with Yugo Sako from Japan.[11]

Ram Mohan's film credits include several animation sequences for mainstream filmmakers – an animated song for B.R. Chopra's Pati Patni Aur Woh (1978), a title sequence for Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khilari, a sequence for Mrinal Sen's Hindi film, Bhuvan Shome, and for films such as Biwi-O-Biwi, Do Aur Do Paanch and Kaamchor.[10]

Ram Mohan was also responsible for the spread of animation in India. Many of the leading animation professionals active today in India started their careers in his studio.

Death

Ram Mohan died on 11 October 2019 in Mumbai at the age of 88.[12]

Filmography

Film Year Role Notes
Certificate of Security 1962 Animator
Building A Nest 1962 Animator
Healthy and Happy 1962 Assistant animator
Mansube Machlidar 1963 Animator
Exploration of Upper Air 1964 Animator
A Fable Retold 1965 Animator
That Touch of Gold 1966 Animator
Homo Saps 1966 Animator
That Bright Touch 1966 Animator
Dreams of Mauji Ram 1966 Animator
Shadow and Substance 1967 Animator and script writer
Sandesh 1967 Organization (Aayojan)
Paint Paint Paint 1968 Animator
Shadow Across The East 1968 Director
Baap Re Baap 1968 Director Animated short film
National Award for the Best Film on family planning
Haseena Maan Jayegi 1968 Animation Director Title sequence
Bhuvan Shome 1969 Animation Artist
Chaos 1969 Director Animated short film
Jitana Chhotta Ho Parivar 1971 Animator
The Cheats 1971 Commentry Words
Chain Reaction 1971 Commentry Words
The Ultimate Ruler 1972 Script Writer
You Said It 1972 Director, Script Writer and designer Animated short film
National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Animation Film
Bholu Ki Bakari 1976 Script Writer
An Evergreen Story 1976 Guidance
Shatranj Ke Khilari 1977 Animation Director
Tobacco Habits and Oral Cancer 1978 Animator
Pati Patni Aur Woh 1978 Animation Director Song "Na Aaj Tha Na Kal Tha"
Precious Water (Anmol Pani) 1980 Script Writer
In The Service of Mankind 1980 Animator
The Human Body 1980 Director
Do Aur Do Paanch 1980 Animation Director Title sequence
Khubsoorat 1980 Animation Song "Qayda Qayda"
Insaf Ka Tarazu 1980 Title Design
Biwi-O-Biwi 1981 Animation Director Title sequence
Swar Sangam 1981 Animation Director
Kaamchor 1982 Animation Director
Angoor 1982 Animation by Ram Mohan Biographics
The Continuous Line 1983 Graphics by Ram Mohan Biographics
Fire Games 1983 Director and designer Animated short film
National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Animation Film
The Four Steps 1984 Commentry Words
Taru 1989 Director and designer
Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama 1992 Director(with Yugo Sako) Animated feature-length film

Indo-Japanese co-production

Meena 1993–2001 Director(16 episodes from 1993 to 2001)
Storyboard artist(3 episodes from 1993 to 1995)		 Animated children's television show created by UNICEF
O' Faby 1993 Animation Director Malayalam Film
The Pea Plant Legacy (Three Part Series) 2015 Script writer, Director and executive Producer

Awards

  • 1969– National Award for the Best Film on family planning, "Baap Re Baap".
  • 1972– National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Animation Film: You Said It[4]
  • 1974– He was commissioned to script, design and direct a series of educational films on population and environment, "Down to Earth" for the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Family Planning Association of India.
  • 1983 – National Award for the Best Animation Film: Fire Games[13][14]
  • 1996– Communication Arts Guild Hall of Frame award for Life Time achievement. Series director:"Meena" for UNICEF, a series of 13 episodes dealing with issues concerning the girl child in south Asia.
  • 2001– Advertising Club Award 'ABBY' for Life Time Achievement.
  • 2003– I.D.P.A. 'Ezra Mir' award for Life-Time Achievement. Broadcast India
  • 2014 – Padma Shri, India's 4th highest civilian award by Govt. of India.

References

  1. ^ a b "Animated dreams". The Telegraph, Calcutta. 8 July 2006. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Father of Indian Animation". 27 January 2014.
  3. ^ Wright, Jean Ann (2005). Animation writing and development: from script development to pitch. Focal Press. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-240-80549-8.
  4. ^ a b "20th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  5. ^ "Animation artist honoured". The Hindu. 5 February 2006. Archived from the original on 7 February 2006. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  6. ^ "Padma Shri Award Announced for Animation Veteran". 27 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Padma Awards Announced". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  8. ^ "An undying love for cartoons". The Hindu. 10 October 2005. Archived from the original on 24 May 2006. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  9. ^ Nichola Dobson (2009). Historical Dictionary of Animation and Cartoons. Scarecrow Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-8108-6323-1.
  10. ^ a b Gurnani, Anand. "Following the star of Indian animation and comics with its 3 wise men". Animation Xpress.
  11. ^ "Ramayana films". The Ramayana at the British Library. The British Library Board. 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  12. ^ "The father of Indian animation, Ram Mohan passes away at the age of 88". 11 October 2019.
  13. ^ "31st National Film Awards". India International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  14. ^ "31st National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 9 December 2011.

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ram Mohan.