Ash Naidoo, who owns a multimedia and design business, recently reached a 100 000 subscriber milestone and received a custom silver award plaque from YouTube.
Naidoo, 38, of Phoenix, said he had a BTech in multimedia from the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.
“I have my own multimedia and design business, specialising in graphic design, corporate branding, video and animation,” said Naidoo.
“I received this milestone award from YouTube for passing 100 000 subscribers and over 16 million views on my YouTube channel, which is dedicated to Hindu 3D animations and Hindu digital art. This channel has taken many years to grow and has now reached Hindus across the world for my unique style of animating and depicting the Hindu deities.”
He said his inspiration generally came from taking traditional Hindu mythology and re-imagining it using modern cinematic themes and styles that are trending, especially with younger audiences.
“The animation process usually takes days to complete, especially with each intricate movement and detail, using the most captivating soundtracks. The end product is always held to my high standards and quality in order to constantly inspire the viewers towards the beauty of Hinduism.”
Naidoo said his channel was mainly dedicated to promoting Hindu deities and expanding awareness of Hindu enlightenment and philosophies, as well as inspiring and motivating others using positive spiritual content.
“Coming from a very spiritual family, I grew up hearing stories about all our Hindu Gods and Goddesses and their epic tales. My single mother always encouraged and enabled my passion for the arts, while my grandmothers always immersed me in our Hindu traditions and mythologies,” said Naidoo
He added that his family, friends, and associates have been proud and supportive of his artistic talents from a young age and as his career expanded into the digital media industry.
“My common challenge is that my art depicts religious deities in more unique and modern ways, whilst still keeping it respectful and as accurate as possible, which to some of the more traditional viewers, may seem unorthodox.
“Since art is very subjective, and spirituality is so vast, I always welcome constructive criticism and informative guidance when done so respectfully," said Naidoo.
His goals and aspirations are to develop and expand his animation skills and social platforms to showcase more full-feature animated movies to promote the Hindu culture and awareness and depict the deities and mythologies in unique and cinematic ways.