The MF Husain DVD offers a dynamic experience. A sneak preview

The story of Maqbool Fida Husain’s life and career, narrated in 41 chapters, is now encompassed in a DVD costing Rs 495. His drawings have been brought to life by a team of animators —Suraj Khanna, Aparna Reddy and Imran Ahmad of Millennium Media — while Kamna Prasad, the producer, commandeered the entire venture. Says Prasad: “I went to London and shared the idea with Husainji. He loved it, but said, ‘Three months is too long a time to spend on this project; finish it in a month.’ The restless energy of this avant-garde painter has driven us to complete the project.” Prasad has worked with Husain in the past to bring alive the couplets and poetry of Mirza Ghalib.

“Husain has written every word and drawn every image for this. We have rendered each frame, with animation, voiceover and music by Sitaram Singh, in such a way that it keeps the audience enthralled,” says Prasad.

The brush roams on the screen essaying the form of Fazila Bibi, Husain’s wife, while the booming voice of Parvez Alam tells the tale written in the painter’s words. An image — of a house of cards and a king and a queen and a little baby crawling through it— is shown as Husain’s story of marriage and family. “We hope to take this to the masses. We will upload some of the chapters on a website we are creating for Husain,” says Prasad.

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