Dickens in Memes: Interviewing Aryak and Joubert

Pickwick fest is just round the corner, and perhaps, the animated movie ‘Hard Times: Murdering the innocents' is a perfect advertisement of the enthusiasm and quality of the fest. Press club brings you an interview with the directors and actors of the movie- Aryak and Joubert.

Shazma : So Joubert, tell us something about yourself?

Joubert : I am a student of animation. I do short films and take projects like these, bringing drawings to life and turning words into pictures. That's what I do and I plan on doing it in the future.

Daoud: How was it to work with a literature student?

Joubert: The way they think and visualize projects makes it so much easier to work with them. Every word brings out so much detail. Its great working with someone who can paint, an absurdly clear picture with his words alone. I look forward to working with not only literature students but people from different fields. The ideas are always unique. Quite an experience!!!

Aryak Ray and cast of the movie(G.I.Joes)

Joubert and his idea

Daoud: How had your experience been in working on this particular project?

Joubert: It was interesting. There were so many ideas and challenges, some of the ideas were finalized but most of them were spontaneous, like totally on       the spot ideas that worked out real nice. There were concerns about the quality of the animation work but it turned out quite well even with the crude pictures. I felt the characters were justified, but i am looking forward to see the reactions of the audience and judges.

Shazma: You used 'rage faces' in your movie, what inspired you to do that?

Joubert: Rage faces portray extremely exaggerated emotions. It was a spontaneous idea. It struck somehow. Later I realized that these 'rage faces', being quite an internet phenomenon these days, brought out the contemporary side to our film, that we actually wanted. I realized further that the faces were in tune with how Dickens' work has been visualized in the past with comics and animated films.

 

The movie

Daoud: Aryak, coming straight to the point, my question to you is, Dickens in animation- you have reached out to the audience with a popular media form. How did such separate ideas of 'Hard Times' and memes fit in?

Aryak: 'Hard Times' is a novel where the degree of caricature is immense, and rage comics fulfilled that need. We have used just a handful of memes to show the whole range of expressions in the chapter. We never thought that rage comics could fit in.

Shazma: Why this particular chapter of 'Murdering the Innocents'?

Aryak: The Coketown education system, as Dickens shows it in this chapter from 'Hard Times', is the present education scenario in Indian schools, where science doesn't go hand in hand with art, and both are shown to be opposing forces.

Daoud: Have you ever ventured into field of animation in past?

Aryak: No. This was the first attempt. Don't know how people will take it.

Let's see.

Shazma: Any future collaboration you might want to discuss.

Aryak: I have too many ideas. I plan to render some music videos with Joubert in the future.

Daoud: Last but not the least... Who scored music for the movie?

Aryak: That would be me (smiles). Although initially i thought of roping in Joubert again for playing bass (laughs).

Shazma

Daoud

-Daoud Mohd. Khan and Shazma Iqbal

BA (Hons) Eng III