Pradipto and Pramita are part of ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’

From studying animation together in 2006 to becoming the first Kolkata couple who have an Oscar-nominated film, ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’, in their kitty, the journey of Pradipto Sengupta and Pramita Mukherjee is nothing but a fairy tale. Yes, you read that right. The couple has worked on director Joel Crawford’s first Oscar-nominated animation film ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’.

“Pradipto and I date back to 2006 when we started studying animation together at Toonz Webel Academy, Kolkata. We do not usually get to work on the same movie often. But it happened with Crawford’s film,” said Pramita. She also added ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ is the best-animated movie of 2022, so they hoped for an Oscar nomination.

Both Pramita and Pradipto work at ‘DreamWorks Animation’ in Los Angeles. Soon after she wrapped up ‘The Croods 2’ in June 2020, she was cast for ‘Puss in Boots’. Meanwhile, Pradipto got roped in after he completed working on ‘The Boss Baby 2’.

In a Bengali household, becoming an animation artist is not much heard of. So, the journey wasn’t smooth for Pradipto, a pass out of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia.

“Everyone in my family expected me to become a doctor or an engineer. But my mother was supportive and helped me to switch to animation after I completed my B.Sc. (Biotechnology),” he said.

For Pramita, however, it was an easy ride. “From an early age, I was into art and my father encouraged me. It was indeed a huge support from them, especially in that era where no one knew much about animation in India,” said the 35-year-old, who is an avid traveller.

It might seem animation is for kids, but the Oscar-nominated couple stresses that people of all age groups enjoy animated movies outside of India.

“There is a misconception that you need to be good at drawing to be an animation filmmaker. There are so many different varied skills that can be channeled into this art form. One needs creativity, dedication and passion,” said Pradipto.