Stills from the animation film Dharmapada. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 28: All Oriyas must be acquainted with the folklore of the village boy who built the dome of the 13th century Sun Temple in Konark. Dharmapada, the son of artisan Bisu Moharana, is a hero people have only read about in storybooks.

Now, animators at the Institute of Digital Media Technology (IDMT) have decided to bring these mythical characters on screen.

They have been working on the theme for the last one-and-half years to create the first Oriya animated film.

The two-dimensional cartoon film that was announced in 2008 is closing completion when it comes to graphics. But there is still more research to be done, says director of the project, Pradeep Kumar Tripathy.

“The graphic work has reached the final stages. However, the lack of proper documentation of history about this episode of Konark is making it challenging for us. But many historians and archaeologists are guiding us,” says Tripathy.

As per folklore, the team of 1,200 masons and artisans that built the Konark temple failed to place the crown over the temple.

However, Dharmapada, the young son of the chief artisan Bisu Moharana, found the solution. The boy then jumped into the sea to save other artisans from the rage of the king for not having been able to complete the task.

Dharmapada has thus become a respected figure in folk tales.

But Tripathy says it is tough to find facts about the renowned tale, since the structure of Konark visible today is only a quarter of the original structure.

“We did extensive research and took ideas from various books and documents to form the story including Pratibha Ray’s book Silapadma. But the presentation of the temple in its original form wherein two huge magnets are said to have been used to hang the Sun God’s statue in air, is the biggest challenge for us,” says Tripathy.

“Moreover, no written account of his village or mother’s name is available to us now,” he adds.

The film made on a budget of 2 crore budget is all set to become the costliest Oriya film. A team of 32 Oriya animators and artists is doing the animation for the film.

“Our artists spent months studying the structure of the Sun Temple so that the animation comes out perfectly,” adds Tripathy.

Inputs from seven people have been used to prepare the script including Sahadev Sahoo and Dilip Chowdhury. Sourav Nayak is composing the music for the film.

“The project might take another four months. It will have a lot of humour, adventure, drama and everything that children would love to watch. But we also have elements that will attract the kid within adults to enjoy the film. Also, we will make the ending positive,” Tripathy says.