This Nivin Pauly-backed short film is dream project of Kannur animator who left Hollywood for a reason

An animated trailer featuring a young girl running through lush greenery, surrounded by towering mountains, has recently gone viral. What’s striking about it is not just the breathtaking animation, but the fact that it’s from a short film made in Kerala with Hollywood-level production quality. The film in question is Blu's, a project by Rajesh PK, a 42-year-old animator from Kannur, who spent over a decade working in Hollywood before returning to his roots to start his own studio.

Blu's has already made waves in the global film festival circuit, winning the Best Esoteric Animated Short category at the Esoteric International Film Festival. The film, which is under 10 minutes long, tells the story of a young girl’s deep connection with nature. As Rajesh puts it, “The story is told through the eyes of a young girl. She’s the sole character, and her deep love for nature is the heart of the film.”

A journey from Hollywood to Redgod Studios
Rajesh’s career has been anything but conventional. Growing up in Kannur, he wasn’t from a family of artists, but he always had a passion for animation. After finishing school, he pursued fine arts and later a computer crash course, which led him to animation at a time when the field was still new in India. "Back then, there weren’t many people in animation, and there wasn’t much competition. I landed a job soon after my course," Rajesh says.

His first job was in Kochi in 2003 as a 2D animator, where he worked on web-era flash loops and learned the rhythm of production. From there, his journey took him to Bangalore, Mysore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, gaining more experience along the way. But it was in 2008 when he found himself at DreamWorks, where his skills truly took off. Over the next decade, Rajesh worked on some of the biggest animated films in Hollywood, including Madagascar 3, The Croods, Mr Peabody & Sherman, Penguins of Madagascar, Trolls, and Venom.

Despite the success and the recognition, Rajesh started to feel disconnected from the work. “I was working on films like Madagascar and Trolls, and while they were amazing projects, I realised that I wasn’t creating something personal,” he reflects. “I wanted to create something that really resonated with me, something from my own roots.”

That realisation led him back to Kerala in 2019, where he started his own studio, Redgod Studios, with the goal of creating high-quality animated films locally. "I wanted to prove that you could make Hollywood-level animation in Kerala. The talent is here, and there’s no reason we can’t match international standards."

The making of Blu's: Quality over everything
Blu's became Rajesh’s passion project, but bringing it to life wasn’t easy. “The film took over five years to complete. There were financial struggles because short films don’t make money, so finding investors was a challenge. But I wasn’t willing to compromise on the quality,” he says. “It takes time to train people and render each scene, but I wanted this project to be at the level of the films I worked on in Hollywood.”

The music for Blu's played a big role in setting the mood and enhancing the film’s emotional depth. Initially, another team was supposed to handle the music, but things didn’t work out. Rajesh reached out to Sushin Shyam, the composer behind Manjummel Boys, and within 20 minutes of watching the rough cut, Sushin called back, agreeing to take on the music. “Sushin really connected with the film. He could relate to it, and that made all the difference,” says Rajesh.

Another key figure in the film is actor Nivin Pauly, who came on board as a presenter after Rajesh showed him the completed version. “I had already discussed the project with Nivin during the pandemic. After he saw the film, he immediately said he’d present it,” Rajesh recalls.

A studio, a vision, and the Oscars
With Blu's making waves on the festival circuit, Rajesh’s immediate goal is to take the film as far as possible, including submitting it for the Oscars. "We’re focusing on the festival circuit right now, and once things settle down, we’ll look at releasing it here," he says.

Looking back at the long journey it took to get to this point, Rajesh says that the process of starting Redgod Studios and working on Blu's was all about proving a point. “By starting the studio here, I wanted to show that you could create world-class animation right in Kerala. It’s not just about the film, it’s also about giving the studio a strong portfolio,” he says.

Beyond Blu's, Rajesh has big plans for Redgod Studios. “The long-term goal is to make a live-action feature, but we have other projects in the works as well. Right now, we do service work to keep the studio running, but our focus will always be on original films,” he says.