For Ujaan Ganguly, the success of Kurukshetra — his debut series as a director — marks the culmination of a long, demanding creative journey. The animated retelling of the Mahabharata is on top of the charts on Netflix, but for the 27-year-old filmmaker, the feeling is still sinking in.
“The feeling has not quite sunk in yet,” Ujaan tells The Telegraph Online, reacting to the overwhelming response his show has received. “My team and I have been working on this show for almost three years now, so one may liken this to finishing a marathon first. You are too spent to do a victory lap, but the medal has never tasted sweeter”.
The idea of making an animated series was not pre-planned, he says. The show’s creator, Anu Sikka, approached him to bring a fresh directorial voice to the retelling of the Kurukshetra War. That collaboration soon found a partner in the Kolkata-based Hi-Tech Animation Studio.
“It wasn’t premeditated,” Ujaan recalls. “We found our visions instantly aligning. With the success of Mahavatar Narasimha in theatres and our show’s reception, I hope animation will no longer remain a medium that’s left ignored.”
A poster of 'Kurukshetra' Netflix
Ujaan’s engagement with the Mahabharata runs deep. Like many, his first exposure came through Amar Chitra Katha, but his true initiation happened under Professor Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri, who served as the research mentor on Kurukshetra.
“Professor Bhaduri’s grasp of the shlokas carries a poetic depth that’s second to none,” Ujaan says. “I was blown away by the intensity of philosophical dilemmas portrayed in the Mahabharata, making it more spatially and temporally relatable than we can fathom. That's all I wanted to prioritise and capture in my writing and direction”.
Visually, Kurukshetra stands out for its cinematic treatment, a deliberate choice by Ujaan for a format often considered secondary to live-action storytelling.
“I found most of the animated movies, cartoons or Japanese anime I liked to be cinematic,” Ujaan says. “Though my understanding of technicalities required to shoot live-action is still evolving, I have developed a few aesthetic preferences or ideas, however fresh or premature they may be. I was able to build on them in this show, and hopefully the little details are making big differences”.
A significant part of Kurukshetra’s mission was to challenge the Indian perception that animation is primarily for children. “Everyone — from Tipping Point to Hi-Tech — was clear that this notion needs to be nullified,” he explains. “Subrata Roy, CEO of Hi-Tech, deserves credit for his insistence on making an animated series for adults. That vision took the show to where it is today.”
Ujaan (centre) with his parents Kaushik (left) and Churni Ganguly (right) Facebook
As the son of filmmakers Kaushik and Churni Ganguly, Ujaan has grown up around cinema, but insists his influences from them are more human than professional. “My father's empathetic perceptivity toward human emotion and his leadership skills on set have always fascinated me. On the other hand, my mother's microscopic attention to detail and precision in almost everything she does, continues to amaze me,” he says.
“I’d like to think I'm quite fortunately stuck somewhere in between,” Ujaan candidly admits.
As for what lies ahead, Ujaan says he is eager to transition into live-action filmmaking. “An animated project takes at least a couple of years to materialise,” he says. “I’d definitely hope to bring something memorable and exciting in live-action by 2026,” he signs off.
