Prolancer Studio: Telling more than animated fairy tales

Should serious visual stories be told only through cinema and TV/web series?

Sohel Mohammad Rana doesn't think so. Once a TV drama director and owner of a film studio, Sohel has successfully transitioned to becoming an animator. He points out that Disney Pixar and Ghibli Studio productions are proof that animated movies can be more than quixotic fairy tales, they can be a medium for powerful and heartwarming storytelling for people of all ages. 

"Like Fire of the Fireflies, The Breadwinner and Persepolis – we too have the potential to tell our native stories through animation," he said, adding, "Like other countries, we also should not differentiate between movies and animation. I want viewers to get used to the fact that our local animated movies can also spread serious social messages," said Sohel.

Sohel is the CEO of Prolancer Studio, an animation studio born out of the ruins of Opera Dhaka, a production house he founded in 2012 to make feature-length films, short films, documentaries, etc. It went into a hiatus in 2014. Operations resumed in 2018 under the new name, and this time around they solely focused on animation. 

Sohel studied fine arts as a student and made his directorial debut with 'Putul Brittanto', a drama telecast on NTV in 2012. It has only been four to five years since Sohel began working on animation projects. 

"I am naturally passionate about the arts. I studied fine arts and I was a student of graphic designing. I also wanted to learn something different and challenging, so I took different online lessons, practised, and learnt how to animate. We hope to popularise the medium and the industry through our works,'' he said.

Sohel Mohammad Rana. Photo: Courtesy

'Ekti Phool Ke Bachabo Bole', an ongoing feature-length animated film project, is only their second major project after 'Mujib Amar Pita'. 

Ekti Phool ke Bachabo Bole explores the struggles of two children and their experiences during the time of the Liberation War. Sohel served as the writer, director and one of the animators for the project; Mithun Hasan was responsible for its screenplay.

"Before Ekti Phool ke Bachabo Bole, we made Mujib Amar Pita, which received a positive response from viewers. Working on that project, I was able to build a great animation team," said Sohel.

Ekti Phool ke Bachabo Bole follows the story of a teenager, Shila, whose father is a member of the Crack Platoon. The plot unfolds when Shila's father is killed in battle and she, along with her younger brother, has to face the adversities of war. 

"The movie shows how the siblings overcome their misfortunes and their fight for survival," he explained.

Sohel's pre-production team includes 35 members, and it will be close to 200 during the production phase. Prolancer aims to release Ekti Phool Ke Bachabo Bole in September 2023. 

"We want to release the film in theatres. We are also planning to release the movie internationally. Our team includes globally recognised animators. Mexican artist Vanessa Moral has worked with us as character designer from the very beginning. We are also planning to include animators of the Oscar winning film 'The Breadwinner'."

Apart from feature-length movies, Prolancer Studio has worked on various animated shorts. They are also working on a superhero animation series called 'Volt'. Sohel shied away from discussing details of the show, but said they are planning to release it soon.