New Delhi, November 15, 2012: Amar Chitra Katha, the iconic Indian brand of cultural comic books, has produced its first full length animated  feature film: 'Sons of Ram-Heroes will Rise'.
Based on ACK's bestselling comic book Sons of Ram, the feature film brings to life mythological characters Luv and Kush and captures their journey through enchanted forests into the revered land of Ayodhya. The story is a tale of brotherhood, courage and adventure, set in the backdrop of the epic Ramayana. The film wasKushal Ruia released by ACK, in association with Cartoon Network, in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu across 400 screens in India on November 2, in 2D and 3D versions.
Adobe Systems’ image and film editing tools Adobe Premiere Pro , Photoshop and After Effects, were extensively used in the making of the film. Photoshop was used as the primary software for visual development during the pre-production stage and in crafting the background of the movie. After Effects was used extensively to create special effects and to convert the movie into stereoscopic 3D for cinematic excellence, while Premiere Pro streamlined the entire editing process.
Says Kushal Ruia, Head, ACK Animation Studios and Writer & Director, Sons of Ram: "The vision of the team with this release was to not only introduce a whole new generation to the world of ACK and Tinkle through film, but simultaneously also create new stories which continue to inspire and entertain in true ACK tradition. What you have is a visual reinvention of Indian stories from the great epics, mythology, history, literature and oral folktales in a whole new digital avatar that is reinvented using technologies from Adobe."
Kushal outlined some interesting details on the production of the movie using Adobe technologies and how it helped his team:
-- The complex background and breathtaking scenery in the movie has been created in Adobe Photoshop. It was the primary software for all kind of visual development and background art production for the film.
-- In particular, the mixer brush in Photoshop worked wonders as it helped the team mix colors in a similar format to the traditional painting process, making it a more intuitive and organic way to approach colours than merely 'picking' them.
-- The 'content aware' feature in Photoshop significantly helped reduce a lot of manual labour for replicating parts in a painting. The team at ACK could immediately focus on the part where the action lay, rather than painstakingly filling up vacant space with redundant foliage and bushes.
-- Using the easy interface of Premiere Pro, even first-time editors got swiftly accustomed to the basic tools and functionalities. That swift jump from the learning phase to the actual editing phase proved crucial in streamlining the workflow and ensuring closure within extremely tight deadlines.
-- The biggest boon of using After Effects for the Sons of Ram pipeline was its versatility. After Effects was not only used for effects work but also compositing and converting the 2D film into Stereoscopic 3D.

Adds Umang Bedi, Managing Director, South Asia, Adobe Systems: "Over the last couple of years we have seen phenomenal growth of the Indian animation industry. This latest production by ACK Animation is a prime showcase how this industry can apply world-class technology with creative skills to bring well-loved local stories to life. At Adobe, we are delighted to be part of the creative journey undertaken by such an iconic brand like ACK, helping bring the characters we grew up reading about as children to new audiences." Additionally, one of India's well-known comic characters, Shikari Shambu also makes his cinematic debut on the silver screen with the short film 'Shikari Shambu and the Man Eater' that will be showcased prior to the screening of the main feature 'Sons of Ram'. This short film has been produced using using Adobe technology including Photoshop for pre-production, Flash for animation and After Effects for post-production. 
Animation for 'Sons of Ram' was accomplished in partnership with the Malaysia-based Inspidea Studios
A trailer for Sons of Ram can be found here: http://www.sonsofram.com/
Link to AKC: http://www.amarchitrakatha.com/
Link to Adobe India Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AdobeIndia