Banyan Deer (1957) was the first animation film made by the Films Division of India (FDI), adapted from the Jataka tale of a deer king who made a deal with a human king and then sacrificed his life to save a mother deer.
Animation Resources has released some breathtaking photographs and images that tell us about the making of the film. The FDI team who made the film was trained by India-born Clair Weeks, who worked with Disney for 16 years. There are fascinating pictures of Weeks’ scrapbook on Banyan Deer, and pictures of the team who painstakingly worked on the sketches, including a photo of two unnamed women, one of whom is wearing a lovely three-fourth-sleeve blouse that make one wonder why the half sleeve was ever invented. An article from Trend magazine tells us about the entire process of animation back in the fifties. You’ll find yourself scrolling and scrolling and scrolling. Thank you Bharath Murthy for sharing this!
Want more? Watch a tear-jerking snippet from the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyiBkXkchjo
An update on that blouse!
Over on Facebook, the cool curator of the tumblr Vintage Indian Clothing pointed out that the blouse in question reminds her of Madhubala’s blouse (in the sequence for Accha Ji Bhi Haari in Kaala Pani). And we thought, oh goodness yes. Then she blew our minds again by pointing out that the film was released a year after the photo of the well-dressed woman above was taken. See it with your own eyes.
Screencaps via Vintage Indian Clothing.