‘The Legend Of Arana’ Is An Entertaining Short From India’s Studio Eeksaurus

The quirky and comedic folklore tale The Legend of Arana (Arana Puranam), directed by Adithi Krishnadas, showcases Mumbai’s thriving animation community.

Based on a recorded conversation between the film’s creative director and executive producer, Suresh Eriyat, and his father, author P.N.K. Panicker, The Legend of Arana tells the story of a god who sends a skink (a type of lizard) and a chameleon on a quest to fetch him water. The skink emerges victorious, but makes an unexpected and dangerous demand.

A loose sequel to their previous film Kandittund!, the film continues Studio Eeksaurus’ exploration of folklore through animation. While Kandittund! was presented in black and white, The Legend of Arana shifts to color while maintaining a similar visual style. “The stories have a similar flavor, so the visuals also had to feel like part of the same family,” Krishnadas told The Hindu in 2023. “It wasn’t a strategic decision — it just felt natural.”

Eriyat adds, “At 95 years old, my father remains one of the last master oral storytellers, preserving a craft often attributed to grandparents. This film is part of a series we began in 2019 to document his storytelling, capturing his vivid, unscripted narrations exactly as he tells them. The way my father narrates is so immersive that we don’t know whether this is an old lore or one he has created, demonstrating how legends evolve over generations. Unlike traditional animated films, this series is entirely unaltered — built directly on recordings of my father, sometimes with his knowledge, sometimes without.”

The Legend of Arana was produced by Studio Eeksaurus, a Mumbai-based commercial and film production company.