Category: hell

Where’s My Pie?

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I recently met a film producer who, after congratulating me on Sita’s admission to Berlin, patiently explained that I’m a “shiny little fish about to enter a shark tank.” I’ve long avoided thinking about the real business side of my feature film endeavor, but suddenly I’m paying attention.

Which calls to mind this audio clip. Sound Designer Greg Sextro recorded numerous improvised conversations for the ironic “Intermission” scene. Some of these are very clever; some take advantage of Indian accents; and one is even in Hindi. But I’m thinking of this one, where Will Franken channels a Hollywood executive discussing the film’s sales potential, or lack thereof. Enjoy.

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Meet Agni

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One of the most frequent questions I hear about Sita Sings the Blues – from desis, no less – is “Who is that red dude on the goat? Is that Satan?”

This is Agni, people. The Vedic god of fire! God of priests and Priest of Gods! I know he’s not worshipped much these days, but he was a big deal back in Valmiki’s time. When Sita enters the fire, Agni carries her right back out, unscathed.

Agni’s vehicle is the ram. I screwed up by putting him on a male goat, rather than a male sheep, which I learned is what a ram is while researching this post. Oops. Although he’s sometimes depicted riding a chariot pulled by goats, so it’s sort of a compromise. But he’s still Agni. He’s got two heads, one for the creative, useful power of fire and one for its out-of-control destructiveness. He’s got multiple arms. He’s red.

He’s Agni.

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Why?

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I’m almost finished animating Sita Sings the Blues. I haven’t been posting images of the latest scenes, based on my own misadventures in love, so here’s one for ya. It depicts “Nina” months after being dumped by her husband by email, while similar events are analyzed by a shadow puppet voiced by Manish Acharya. Because the film is now 80 minutes long, I am omitting a song. I was going to have a composer sweeten it up and make it more pop-y, but I kind of like it as is (I “made” it myself! Thanks iTunes and Audio Hijack Pro!). It is about what everyone asks compulsively when their love fails. You won’t hear it in the film, it’s a ninapaley.com exclusive!

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