This is the story of a man who has been associated with the Indian animation industry for nearly 47 years, his struggles and dreams and the crowning achievement of his life the making of India's first feature-length animated film - Hanuman, the Monkey God. The movie is a super hit and the rest history.
Vasant Gajanan Samant drew his first lines and sketches as a kid on the walls of his house in his native Konkan to the utter annoyance of his elders. However, an aunt spotted the talent quickly and encouraged him to join drawing classes out side school hours. She turned out to be a guiding angel, whenever Samant required help most, even in his later years. Samant studied up to 11th class in his small town, taking separate drawing classes in the morning and evening. In 1954, he passed his SSC, with drawing as his special subject.
“I had no time to play,” Samant recalls, sitting in a chair cross-legged, with sketches of a cute-looking child Hanuman, whom, he had drawn for his film, with his grandson as a model. At 71, Samant still draws his lines, with the same innovative, impatient, keen urge of a kid, looking with wonder at his creation.



After SSC, Samant was to study engineering at a technical institute in Mumbai, then Bombay, as arranged by an uncle, a strict disciplinarian, who brooked no nonsense when it came to punctuality. One crucial day, the much-awaited telegram arrived from the institute, asking him to present himself the very next day. “But today is amavashya and it is very inauspicious to travel,” said young Samant's mother, who was as adamant as his uncle when it came to observing certain traditions. What is life without drama? So, Samant arrived one day late in Mumbai, after a tiring, overnight train journey. Lo, and behold, who opens the door? It was Samant's uncle, furious as a raging fire. He wouldn't even allow the lad to enter the house. The institute seat had been filled up and Samant had better take the same route back as he had come. His wife persuaded him to allow the boy at least to enter the house, wash up, have a bit of rest, eat and think of the future. The angel aunt surfaced again. What's life without twists? After all, the talented boy could do an advanced course in drawing and get a diploma from Mumbai's famous J.J. School of Arts, that could fetch him the post of a drawing teacher. It was a three-year course and Samant stood First Class First at the end of it in 1957. The following year, Samant passed his Masters in Art and was looking for an opening when an advertisement appeared, that changed Samant's life forever. It was from the Films Division in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry seeking artists to join its Cartoon Unit in Mumbai. Samant steadily rose from the ranks to become Chief Animator by 1987.
The decade of the 1950s belonged to Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, who wanted the young and fledgling republic to develop itself in every field, including animation. So an experienced animator was brought from Walt Disney to train Indian animators.
“It was then I started taking interest in the Stop-Motion Camera and its working,” Samant says. Years later, Samant built a Stop-Motion camera himself at an incredibly low cost of Rs 79,000 as against the original price of Rs 28 lakhs, producing an end-result of the same quality. He built this camera in 1986, four years ahead of his leaving the Films Division.
“I have made scores of animation films with this camera. The result has always been one of very high quality,” Samant says. “I used to work outside taking risks, for the sheer excitement of experimentation, both for personal and professional satisfaction. I exposed myself to all aspects of animation, including the technical nuances and the working of the camera.”
At the Films Division, Samant produced all kinds of animation films, their themes ranging from social awareness to education in science. Some of these were on Postal Savings, Family Planning, health issues, astro-physics and national integration,
“Kalpavriksha” - the Tree of Unity was one of the remarkable animation films I made, which effectively promoted the theme of national integration,” Samant recalls. .
“I took a lot of interest in making puppet films and the technique of pixillation, the frame by frame picturization with the stop-motion camera,” Samant says. Even during Films Division days, Samant helped private animation filmmakers whenever they sought his help. After 31 years of service with the Films Division, the last three as Chief Animator, Samant sought voluntary retirement in1990, at the age of 56.
Availing himself of all the benefits that came with his voluntary retirement, Samant launched an animation production house V. G. Studio. The years between 1990 and 1995, Samant made animation films for the Children's Film Society. He remembers fondly how children applauded him enthusiastically when introduced by Jaya Bachchan, then Chairperson of the Children's Film Society, as the man who made the animation film that they had just seen and immensely enjoyed.

Samant has been conducting, once every two years a children's animation workshop, coinciding with the Children's Film Society Festival, the first one being held in 1991 in Thiruvanathapuram.
“In 1993 I made a film on Chetak, the legendary horse on which rode mighty Rajput Warrior-King Rana Pratap for the Children's Film Society Festival. It won a national award in 1994,” Samant said. “The animation workshops have become regular events.”
In 1995, Samant joined Silverline Technologies as a consultant to produce animation films. Samant, along with his son, whom he had trained in animation, left for France to get familiarized with equipment and computers, to introduce paperless animation for the first time in India. The training of animators began in earnest and the first production, 'The Panchatantra', - the stories from the Indian classic of the same name, began in 1997. The marketing of the “show reels” in the US started simultaneously to get outsourcing work.
“Roman” and the “Soap on the Rang” were other assignments obtained from abroad.
The idea of Hanuman took seed sometime around 1998 and production started in 1999. It was to be a two-hour film, based on a script done by Samant. Meanwhile, Silverline started accepting assignments from outside to make enough money to pay for the staff, the number of which rose from 30 to 100, and to fund the production of Hanuman. One of the assignments was to animate the Stories from the Book of Virtues. Silverline did 26 episodes of different assignments for France and 56 episodes for Australia as part of outsourcing tasks. The production of Hanuman continued in fits and starts and the rough-cut of Hanuman was finally ready by January, 2001.
Troubles soon started. Some more projects that were to come from Australia and France did not materialize. Some of the artists left for greener pastures. People from Prasad Productions and Chandamama Publication from the South showed interest in Hanuman, which soon faded. Percept Advertising came into the picture. And the picture was set to be released in April 2005. But it was not to be. A UK company, which got involved in the production by funding it, took matters to court demanding certain rights. Finally a compromise was made. India's first indigenously produced animation film Hanuman, the Monkey God was released on October 21, 2005. In statistical terms, 160 artists worked round the clock for two years and three months on the two-hour film, which has 2,700 scenes with 1,750 different colour backgrounds and two lakh frames. It, of course, has one man, directing the creative show, that is Samant and one God motivating everything, that is Hanuman.
“I could not sleep for three days,” Samant says. “Because the future of the Indian animation film industry depended on the success of Hanuman at the box-office. It was also made on Indian soil using a popular Indian mythological theme.”
Of course, there were other animation films based on Indian themes but made outside India, such as the Legend of Ramayana, made in Japan, a 3-D animation film on Buddha, made in Singapore, and Bhaagmati, made in India, the last being a dud at the box-office.
“So, the worry was whether animation films will be a success or not in India. Slowly the publicity for Hanuman spread by the word of mouth. It became a family picture. After two weeks, the film turned out to be a hit. One indication was the piracy of the films DVDs and CDs,” Samant says, with a smile. “It's all Hanuman's blessing.”
Samant is now a relaxed man, running his animation studio Pansoft, toying with many new ideas, at the same time imparting techniques to young aspirants.
“There is a bright future for the Indian animation industry, its strong point being the availability of creative people. But what is required is the development of world-class technicians. In fact, Walt Disney faced the same problems in the beginning. What we need is classical animation training,” Samant says. It is in these areas, that Samant will be making his own contribution and leave his legacy behind.


In an entertainment industry, where dog eats dog, where cutthroat competition undermines basic ethics, where bankruptcy is rampant, Hanuman has had the last laugh.
The self-less monkey god, for whom worship of Lord Rama is sheer devotion, who contained in himself the power of mighty winds, who could uproot and lift mountains, who could fly with the thunder of a Concord, is the hero of every Hindu boy, and every boy across the globe who happens to watch the wonderful animation film made by Samant.
Dev