Guwahati, June 3: Assam’s revered Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Xankardeb will soon be seen in an animated avatar.

Directed by veteran filmmaker Manju Borah, Xarbagunakor Xankardeb, the first full-length Assamese animation film on the saint, will hit the screens in three months.

Borah, who forayed into animation films for the first time, said 75 per cent work has been completed and post-production will be over within a few weeks. “We will release it in three months,” the national award-winning director said.

The 100-minute film will cover Xankardeb’s life and how he brought tremendous transformation to the society in Assam. He passed away in 1568, leaving a lasting impression on the socio-religious life of the people.

Xankardeb is credited with building on past cultural relics and devising a new form of music (borgeet), theatrical performances (ankiya nat, bhaona), Xattriya dance and literary language (Brajabuli). He has also left an extensive literary oeuvre of transcreated scriptures (Bhagavat of Sankardev) and poetry and theological works in Sanskrit, Assamese and Brajabuli.

The film is an attempt to take Xankardeb’s ideology to the younger generation, which has an affinity with animation films or serials. Sources said while planning the movie, the director and producer had in their mind how characters like Chhota Bheem have become a part of kids’ lives.

“Numerous activities done by Xankardeb when he was young still fascinate people. It is said he swam across the Brahmaputra during the monsoon and grounded a bull with his bare hands. These incidents have the potential to catch a child’s imagination,” said the source.

Producer Sanjive Narain had earlier said the movie would be finished in three months and released before April but the animation work prolonged production.

The animation has been done in Guwahati indicating the city has now an adequate set-up and talent to render such technical work. The film, which was conceived by Narain, has found its way to celluloid after five years of planning. He was prompted to make the film when he observed many children knew very little about Xankardeb. “We would be doing a great service to the society if our endeavour helps the children learn about Xankardeb,” said Narain.

While Borah has directed the film and wrote its screenplay, the music has been composed by popular singer Tarali Sarma and dialogue and research has been done by Prabhat Das, an expert on Xankardeb. The storyboard, background, layout, character design and environmental research have been done by Gautam K. Das.

Prior to Xarbagunakor Xankardeb, an independent artist, Axl Hazarika from Guwahati had created an animated music video-short film, Hum Badal Gaye, based on a Hindi song. It focused on the friendship between a boy and a cat to create awareness about compassion towards animals.