May 31, 2008 3:40:08 PM IST Bollywood Trade News Network

Anushvi Productions' animation-mythological film DASHAVATAR, scheduled for release all over on June 13, has an item song in the film, first time in a mythological. DASHAVATAR is based on ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu and has been directed by Bhavik and produced by Vimal Shah in association with Pune-based Phoebus Creations Media Pvt. Ltd.

The song, Mohini, Kamini, Gajgamini... sung by Kunal Ganjawala and Rattan Mohan Sharma, appears when the Gods and the Asurs (demons) are churning the ocean, as advised by Lord Vishnu, to retrieve the lost glory of the heavens. When Dhanvantri emrges with the nectar, there is a quarrel among the Asurs to possess it, as it would make them even more powerful and invincible. The Gods are helpless and powerless so it is imperative that the Gods drink the nectar. A beautiful maiden then appears on the scene and seeing her beauty the Gods and especially the Asurs are stunned. She mesmerizes the Asurs into giving her the jar of nectar which she begins distributing, much to the delight of the Asurs who keep following her, entranced and captivated by her beauty.

But an item song in a mythological? Is it for commercial considerations? We ask. 'It was a cinematic consideration more than a commercial one,' informed director Bhavik. 'As a director I saw the potential for a song situation. The scene otherwise could have been quite dry with lot of dialogues only, so to infuse an element of fun I decided to introduce the song. Also the situation where a beautiful maiden mesmerizes the Asurs and lulls them into a sense of complacency, lent itself to the song which had all the trappings of an 'item number' keeping in mind the present day trend. Since the 'Mohini roop' was to be that of a temptress, the character had to have a seductive quality both in appearance and mannerism and we have been quite successful in creating that magic. So Anand Kurhekar, the music director, composed a nice catchy song brilliantly rendered by Kunal Ganjawalla and Rattan Mohan Sharma, where the Asurs and the Gods, are mesmerized by Mohini's beauty. The music composer decided on using a synthesis of western and Indian music. He mixed an element of the 'blues' with the qawalli to add pep and fun to the song. We also added a lot of fun and humour through some comic situations between Mohini and the Asurs through the song & some special effects. All in all it's a fun filled 'item number'. We first choreographed the song live and on that basis animated it.'

Shatrughan Sinha has given narration for DASHAVATAR. Besides Shatrughan Sinha, there are other actors who have lent their voices for different characters. Sachin Khedekar lends his voice for the character Lord Vishnu, Shreyas Talpade for Narad, Rupali Ganguly for Apsara, Tom Alter for Parshuram, Shishir Sharma for Bali Raja, Kenneth Desai for Lord Indra, Vinay Apte for Kansa and Ashish Vidyarthi for Hiranakshyapu.