Ashoka the Hero releases this Friday (7 Jan 2011), what is the one thing you are most stressed out about and one thing you are most delighted about?
I think it is always stressful to put up something you have worked very hard on upto public scrutiny, one wonders how people will respond to it. Before we started production many people told us we would never be able to finish the film let alone release it.. and here we are 2 days away…this is a source of great joy.
Tell us more about your movie, what‘s the storyline?
Ashoka is a hero‘s journey, it‘s the story of a young boy who wants to grow up and be like his father a late policeman who dies trying to foil a bank robbery. The last thing his father says to him is “be a good person” taking this to heart Ashoka wants to grow up and do just that.
However, his turn comes much sooner when he finds the medallion of Emperor Ashoka. The Emperor created the medallion after the war of Kalinga to prevent mankind from destroying itself. This medallion turns young Ashoka into a supehero.
How young Ashoka deals with his powers and the responsibility of being a superhero and in the end faces a powerful enemy is what the rest of Ashoka is about.
What kind of marketing and distribution efforts have you been working on to use the much maligned term, we have done a 360 marketing push to promote Ashoka to our target audience.
We have print ads in the leading dailies, Spots on childrens‘ networks such as Cartoon Network as well as an animated music video across music channels. Our web campaign has been led by Web 18 and has been activated across their online properties & Book My Show is also running an email & SMS campaign besides a micro site on their home page. We have OOH media support in conjunction with Bright. Radio Mirchi has been playing our radio spots in multiple cities and we have interviews lined up with them. They also featured Ashoka the Hero on their Christmas day special with Jeeturaj which got a fabulous response.
One of the most exciting things we have done is that we have taken Ashoka to the kids, we had a special event at Phoenix Mills where we had nearly 300+ kids and a recent one with Crossword where we had nearly 150 kids.
We have also reached out to numerous schools directly in parts of Bombay to promote Ashoka.
What do the kids focused previews say about the movie?
Kids who have watched the film have given us positive feedback, some have liked the story, some the fighting and some simply loved the dog. All of them though seemed to have had a good time which is what we were aiming for.
I‘m sure you have done and are working on several brand tie ups?
We are fortunate to have some top brands to associate with us and we thank them for their support. Springboard Films, Cartoon Network, Radio Mirchi, IN.com, Book My Show, Bright, Universal Music. Each of these brands is a leading light within its industry and the support they have given us has been unbelievable.
Is the home video, broadcast, online game & merchandise plan in place to follow the theatrical release? Who are the partners?
Cartoon Network is going to broadcast the film on satellite, however we are looking to take Ashoka to other language markets as well as present it as the big kids summer flick on GEC. IBIBO is developing a cobranded online game for us.
We have had feelers for home video but we are yet to take a call. We developed a slate of merchandise including products such as cricket bats, mugs, bags, pencil boxes etc. These products are for promotional purposes only.
The one thing that you want to leave the kiddy audiences with is
The tag line of the film – Drink Milk, Do Homework, Save the World…
What are the top credits for Ashoka The Hero?
Production by: Gyanendra Jain and Illusion Interactive, Animation Prod: Illusion Interactive
Writer/Director: Gaurav Jain, Editor: Naren Ratan-Dayal Mojidra, Music: Justin and Uday
Lyrics: Rekha Nigam, Singer: Shibani Kashyap, Sound: Abhijeet Deo, Post Prod: Toyworks
Core team: Deepak Kale, Ravi Zade, Nitin Satam, Ajay Nakti, Parashar Rane.
Any Additional Comments you‘d like to share
We have just finished the script of Ashoka 2 as well as some character designs. We are really hoping that the response for Ashoka the Hero is good enough to make it another theatrical feature rather than a satellite premiere.