MUMBAI: Taking a slightly different route from most Diwali commercials, Supari Studios integrates the magic of creative storytelling in its commercial for Amazon Prime Video.

The film highlights the importance that stories hold in our lives, through the eyes of a grandmother and granddaughter pair. We see a young girl in her mid 20s narrating a magical story, using quirky props and interesting story telling devices. At a point in the story, she goes back into her memories, remembering how it was once told to her by her grandmother, on yet another Diwali day, many years ago. The film ends with the realisation that the tables have now turned and the listener has now become the storyteller, trying to rekindle old memories of a grandmother, whose memories are slowly fading away. To enhance the impact of this storytelling, the Supari team very uniquely blended live-action with animation, along with seamless camera movements and transitions, transporting its viewers into a different world altogether. This heartwarming film, filled with ample doses of nostalgia and heart, aims to stay true to the Diwali spirit of family bonding and simple pleasures.

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Misha Ghose, Director of the film said, “For us, this film was an exciting journey that we were allowed to take with our protagonists. The film is about bringing alive the magic of storytelling, which we wanted to be as creative and memorable as possible; so we used puppets, animation and cardboard cutouts and then tried to weave it into the story as seamlessly as we could. Of course the process was quite complicated; we had to sync a ten-foot movable backdrop with lights changing and a puppet reacting, and get all our match cuts that allowed us to move into the animation world perfectly. Getting the whole timing right was crucial and extremely challenging. Overall, our hope was to be able to take the viewer through a journey that was both magical and heartwarming. I think Diwali is a great time to remember how important some memories and relationships are and I’m glad we got to make this kind of Diwali film.”

Manoti Jain, Executive Producer, Supari Studios said, “The advertising sector has become increasingly cluttered in the recent past, and brands are looking for fresher and more creative routes to connect with their target audiences. For their Diwali campaign, Amazon Prime Video wanted to steer clear from the cliché Diwali advertisements, and instead emphasise upon the joy that storytelling brings into our lives, which is symbolic of their brand. While conceptualising the film, we decided to retain certain integral elements of Diwali, such as the ‘good versus evil’ narrative and family bonding, while showcasing them in a more unique manner. With storytelling being our primary focus, we turned a simple exchange between a grandmother and her granddaughter into a magical, larger than life experience, by integrating a variety of distinct treatment styles into the very same story. Working with Amazon was a great experience, since they were looking to push the boundaries of creative storytelling, much like we were, and we're looking forward to more such collaborations with them in the future.”

Aditya Tawde, Head, Post Office, said, “The most interesting aspect of working on the film was amalgamating live action, 2D animation and storytelling with a puppet seamlessly into a single narrative. While conceptualising the characters and backdrops for the animation portions, we had to ensure that they could be well replicated in the other forms of storytelling as well. We also designed our frames in a way that gave them an international feel, while retaining Indian characteristics and elements in the design. The animation was given vintage filters and made with a colour scheme that invoked a sense of warmth and nostalgia, keeping in mind that it was an exchange between a grandmother and her granddaughter. It was great to finally see all these aspects come together so beautifully in the final film.”

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