THE GODAWAN | Return of The Great Indian Bustard | Stopmotion Film with BTS | Studio Eeksaurus

When a corporate giant chooses to resurrect the lives of birds facing extinction, with no direct impact on revenue or business growth, there has to be a reason that goes far beyond marketing. And that is the reason we at Studio Eeksaurus latched on to this film and dedicated the past eight months to creating it from thin air. The team at Godawan and 22feet, led by Rahul Mathew, approached us with an idea that immediately felt like it was up our alley: to tell the story of the rise of the phoenix, the firebird, through a medium that itself emerges transformed after being burnt and fired. Blue pottery. The combination felt magical. But working with pottery is also an exercise in surrender. You shape the clay, draw on it, animate it, fire it, and then let nature have the final say. What comes out of the kiln is never entirely in your control. This film demanded the same kind of surrender. A surrender to the artists and collaborators who came on this journey with us. To the limitations of time and resources. To the material itself. And, most importantly, to the trust and confidence placed in every single person and entity involved. The result, as it often is with a process like this, was full of surprises. And brought us a kind of joy that no other medium can quite offer. On a good day, we could create just two to three seconds of the film. Sometimes while working simultaneously across three different setups. The music by Rajat Dholakia became the backbone of the film. Lyrics born from the imagination of Harsukh Dhayal, and the soulful voice of young Nishant Gupta, brought life to the egg that narrates our story. Resul Pookutty and team made the audio scape come alive. The film began with meticulous 2D drawings and animation. Every frame was then painstakingly transferred onto ceramic surfaces, turning those fragile pieces of pottery into the heroes that finally stood in front of the camera. Fragility became the spirit that guided us through this entire journey. What went behind the making of this film will always remain, in many ways, behind the film itself. But we wanted to share a glimpse of that journey. So, for everyone who is curious about how this little world was created, watch the making film till the very end. And perhaps, in doing so, give a salute to the relentless effort, patience, craft and sheer valour of our soldiers of art. This one was made with immense love. Studio Eeksaurus CREDITS: Director: Suresh Eriyat Executive Producer: Nilima Eriyat Music Director: Rajat Dholakia Director of Photography: Arun Kumar Sound Design: Resul Pookutty (CAS, MPSE), Vijay Kumar (MPSE) Master Percussionist: Taufiq Qureshi Lyricist: Harsukh Dhayal Lead Singer: Nishant Gupta Art Direction: Team Eeksaurus Stop-Motion Animation Director: Aman Gupta 2D Script and Storyboard: Suresh Eriyat Animatics: Adithi Krishnadas, Tanvi Palathinkal, Kratika Sunkar Style Exploration: Nijin Nazeem, Rajib Mandal, Tanvi Palathinkal, Soham Samant Layouts: Adithi Krishnadas, Nijin Nazeem, Rajib Mandal 2D Animation: Adithi Krishnadas, Rajib Mandal, Tanvi Palathinkal, Kratika Sunkar, Neelesh Ram, Nijin Nazeem, Rebecca Paul, Sakshi Kamat, Trusha Rahate Cleanup & Colour: Adithi Krishnadas, Rajib Mandal, Tanvi Palathinkal, Kratika Sunkar, Neelesh Ram, Nijin Nazeem, Rebecca Paul, Sakshi Kamat, Trusha Rahate, Swaraa Soni, Bella George, Atharva Karandikar, Samika Shivraman Print Management Print Supervisor: Bhavaya Mehra Print Setup Artists: Akshay Shelake, Tejal Sonawane, Bhavaya Mehra Print Vendors Vinyl Print: Kwality Xerox Plate Print: Shakti Ceramics, Lamba enterprise Ceramic Vendors Plates: Ikea, Nathani Traders, Nitori Tiles: Mitesh Marbles Laser Cutting: JS Graphics Camera & Lights: Ravish Equipment, 1 Stop Cine Digital, Naveed Sheikh Stop-Motion Animation Lead Animators: Aman Gupta, Kush Koyani, Gia Sudhakaran Animators: Sakshi Kamat, Sanjay Patkar Assistant Animators: Hrithwik Paresh, Tejas Vanjare, Durvakshi Patil, Krusha Vakharia, Himanshee Lal, Siddhi Gandhi, Shruti Bhise, Utkarsha Bhagwat Frame Arrangement: Aman Gupta, Kush Koyani, Nikhil Patil, Gia Sudhakaran Prop Department Prop & Set Design Lead: Nikhil Patil Prop Manager: Advait Rajadhyaksha Senior Prop Artists: Mayank Dobwal, Krusha Vakharia, Ramesh Jadhav, Sanjay Patkar Pottery Artist: Sanjay Patkar Prop Assistants: Himanshee Lal, Siddhi Gandhi, Nishita Kamble, Durvakshi Patil, Tejas Vanjare, Shruti Bhise, Hrithwik Paresh, Utkarsha Bhagwat, Nina Nambiar, Sakshi Kamat, Gia Sudhakaran Special Thanks To: Hiren Dedhia, Geetanjali Chhabra, Rahul Mathew, Vishnu Srivatsav, Shyam Nair, Shikha Davessar, Zubin Sheriff, Varda Choudhary, Ishant Gulati, Ankit Vohra, Jamuna Poovaiah, Devika Bakshi, Janvi Jain, Gokul Anand