Manas Sahoo with Aamir Khan . Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 13: One can hardly escape having goosebumps as silhouettes of freedom fighters Mangal Pandey, Bhagat Singh and Rani Lakshmi Bai appear on screen in quick succession followed by mounted British soldiers, who are eventually driven out by Mahatma Gandhi and his band of followers.

The collage then melts into the background and the screen explodes with an image of some figures hoisting the Indian Tricolour.

This is an animated version of the Indian freedom struggle brought alive by Manas Kumar Sahoo. The sand animation wizard from Puri has designed the 45-second promotional video for the Independence Day special show of a television show hosted by actor Aamir Khan.

“I could not believe my luck when I received a call from Aamir Khan Productions last month. They wanted me to go to Mumbai to discuss a sand animation promo for a special episode of Satyamev Jayate to be aired on August 15. This is only a great opportunity for me to showcase my talent but also a huge leap for sand art,” said Sahoo, who met Khan on August 1.

“He wanted something that could depict the triumph of Indian freedom fighters over the British government. We brainstormed for about half an hour and finalised the theme, music and background narration. The images revolve around the Quit India Movement culminating in our Independence,” said Sahoo, who has received a cheque of Rs 1 lakh from the actor for this project.

Sahoo has uploaded the video on YouTube and Facebook. “I have also come up with a slightly longer version of the promo which would be on air during the next two days,” he added.

Speaking about Khan, who, in the course of 13 weeks, made an impact with well-researched documentaries on various social ills such as dowry, female foeticide, child abuse and corruption, Sahoo said: “The first thing I told him was how he had inspired me with his movie 3 Idiots, especially his line, ‘Success ke peechhe mat bhaago, excellence ka peechha karo. Success jhak maar ke tumhare peechhe aayegi’ (Don’t run after success, pursue excellence. Success will ultimately come to you). That one dialogue changed my outlook and made me look at life from a whole new perspective. By God’s grace, success has indeed knocked on my door.”