MUMBAI: While Mani Ratnam is planning to direct a movie called Ravan based on the epic tale Ramayan with Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Govinda and Tamil actor Vikram in lead roles, Maya Entertainment has unvield its animation film Ramayana – The Epic.

Based on the original Ramayana written by sage Valmiki, the animation film will be directed by Chetan Desai. It will have voice-overs by Juhi Chawla (Sita), Manoj Bajpai (Ram), Ashutosh Rana (Ravan), and Mukesh Rishi (Hanuman).

With this film, Desai aims to introduce Ram to the younger generation as the aspirational idol and the greatest superhero India has ever produced.

Ramayana – The Epic will be ready by December 2008 and plans are to release it early next year.

Maya Entertainment executive vice president business development Jai Natarajan said, "We at Maya Entertainment had nurtured a vision to showcase to Indians a high-end animation film that would appear real to the eyes. We worked with a lot of perseverance to achieve this vision and today it gives me immense pleasure to introduce to you Ramayana- the Epic." 

Speaking about the Indian animation industry, Natarajan added, "There is a boom in the animation industry and India has immense potential to encash it. In 2006, the animation industry was at Rs 10.5 billion and is estimated to grow upto Rs 40 Billion in the next three years. I am confident that this movie will usher in a new era in the Indian animation industry." 

Desai said, "Ramayana – The Epic is the biggest a legend can get, and to show this legend a canvas of extraordinary scale is necessary. We have tried to be historically accurate as much as possible to continue this heritage. The animation rendered is far more superior to other films we have seen. The film has contemporary music with state of the art sound effects that today’s generation will relate to."