Star Wars: Visions Vol 2 – Team Behind Bandits of Golak Short Talks About Finding Inspiration From Indian Culture and Bollywood

It’s May 4, which means it’s Star Wars Day, and with it comes with a new volume of the animated anthology series, Star Wars: Visions.

For those unaware, Star Wars: Visions features animated shorts created by animation studios from across the world. These shorts showcase stories in a galaxy far, far, away, and they delve deep into some of the lesser-known worlds and characters of the famed sci-fi universe.

Volume 2 of Star Wars: Visions feature shorts from 9 animated studio. This includes “The Bandits of Golak”, an animated short set between a brother and a force-sensitive younger sister as they attempt to escape from their village on a train. At the same time, evil Imperial forces are after them.

The short creates history, as 88 Pictures has taken influence from the rich Indian culture to share with the world a story that’s both feels global yet true to the Indian core.

To talk more about the story, its characters, and the various influences of The Bandits of Golak, I spoke with 88 Pictures, Founder and CEO, Milind D Shinde and director Ishan Shukla. During our conversation, they revealed their efforts to showcase a one-of-a-kind story for Star Wars fans.

The genesis of The Bandits of Golak

We began our conversation talking about how the project came about in the first place. As many would know, Volume 1 of Star Wars: Visions included animated shorts inspired by anime. Most of the projects were developed by Japanese animation studios.

However, Shinde stated that the concept expanded to showcase stories and animation styles from across the world. As part of this expansion, he and 88 Pictures were brought in alongside several other studios. “We were trying to pitch in saying that we should represent this big world from here, which the world hasn’t seen,” he said.

Shinde noted that it was a long shot for 88 Pictures to be selected from the long list of animation studios in contention. After Lucasfilm provided a story parameter, 88 Pictures presented their idea to the executives.

Shukla joined the chat to state the story pitch “spoke to them” both as Indians and as Star Wars fans. He also revealed that 88 Pictures had shared concept art of various sequences such as the Dhaba and the train scenes as part of the pitch. These early concepts became a reality in the final short. “We knew that we had something good in our hands, which was something very unique, and we as fans had never seen in the Star Wars universe,” stated Shukla. “We were glad that it spoke to Lucasfilm as well.”

Going all-out as Indians with The Bandits of Golak

As a universe, Star Wars has rarely found a counterpart, when it comes to visual aesthetics in the modern world. However, The Bandits of Golak goes all-out in showcasing an Indian world in the Star Wars universe.

When asked about taking references from the Indian culture for a Star Wars project, Shukla noted that they didn’t want to go far for inspiration. They already have a lot of inspiration right here in the sub-continent. “The world is so big that anything can happen anywhere,” he said. “So, we thought this particular small planet is probably something which is inspired by the Indian culture.”

Soon after, the team brainstormed ideas on what constitutes as the culture in the planet known as Golak. If you haven’t realized it already, the planet’s name is the Hindi translation of “spherical planet” (Gol-lok). Ishan and the team at 88 Pictures soon created a world for Golak, with emphasis on food, fashion, architecture, and even the fighting styles of its various characters.

To provide an authentic Star Wars planet filled with Indian culture, the team took references from various places. This includes the deserts in Rajasthan serving as the base of the planet. When it comes to the architectural side of things, some of the buildings like the Dhaba comes from Punjab.

Shinde admitted that they had some worries about the Indian aspects of the short. Especially if the global audience could understand these aspects. “If we don’t do justice to our own feelings that we want to represent, then it’s a problem,” he later said.

Another brother-sister relationship at the center of it at all

Just like the original trilogy focuses on the relationship between a brother (Luke) and sister (Leia), The Bandits of Golak also puts an emphasis on the relationship between a brother and sister. Shukla noted that the initial inspiration for the plot didn’t come from Star Wars itself, as the idea was inspired by his relationship with his elder brother.

The story also focuses on the idea of leaving home, something you can connect to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Shukla shared that he wanted to explore the sibling dynamics between Charuk (Suraj Sharma) and Rani (Sonal Kaushal) in The Bandits of Golak. “I think relationships are always challenged and bettered,” said Shinde. He added, “We thought there’s an opportunity for us to put that and the sibling thing, Ishan came up with that and it really clicked.”

Bollywood at its core with Pani Puri and Jalebis

During our conversation, Shinde pointed out that there are four pillars that one can take inspiration from for the Indian culture. These essential pillars include the geography, Cricket, color, and films. While crafting the story of The Bandits of Golak, the team took inspiration from the films, geography, and colors of India.

Talking about the first pillar, Shinde confessed that the short garners inspiration from a variety of films from across the globe including the Indiana Jones franchise. Shukla later disclosed that films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and Inglorious Basterds also played a major hand in helping them craft the story. From the world of Bollywood, the most obvious connection is Sholay.

However, taking inspiration from Bollywood comes with its own set of challenges. “When it comes to Bollywood, nothing is simple,” said Shinde. To tie it all together, the team looked at incorporating a ton of music, a key aspect of Bollywood films.

The duo also talked about the slow-motion sequence of flying food, which included items like Pani Puri, Chole, Jalebi, and more. Shukla added, “Imagine if you have a Pani Puri flying in Star Wars, it could be very interesting” with a chuckle.

Shinde also spoke about an inspiration for the ages, the use of Jalebis in the short. It is a central aspect for the story of The Bandits of Golak. Instead of using foods that we typically see in Hollywood films like Samosas, the team instead opted to use Jalebi as a candy called Lebi. Shinde said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Lebi made a return in future Star Wars projects.

Creating a menacing Inquisitor

A good, heroic story can’t be completed without an equally menacing villain. This essential component is what the Inquisitor played by Neeraj Kabi brought in The Bandits of Golak.

It’s quite challenging to create a scary villain when there’s limited screen time for the antagonist in a short. Ishan shared that during the storyboarding stage, the team had ideas to introduce the inquisitor in the opening sequence. “But we decided not to do that because it was a good reveal in the end,” said Shukla.

He later stated that Neeraj Kabi had given various performances for the character. “One was very funny, one was always angry, one was just menacing, one was very dark, and we had fun with it,” he said. Shukla stated, “But ultimately what came out in the short film is someone, who is very smart.”

Finding inspiration from other art forms

The short has found inspiration in a wide variety of elements from the Indian culture including Bollywood and food. As mentioned earlier, The Bandits of Golak has all the bases covered around the inspiration aspect.

Despite these influences, the team found even more influences in other cultural art forms. Shukla pointed to the use of Kathakali for the masks worn by the Jengoris. He said, “We were trying to look for all kinds of inspirations for the Jengoris. When the Kathakali thing came in and we tried to put that mask right away, that was bingo.”