Bohra Sisters: Siblings Winning Hearts via Stop Motion Storytelling
Bohra Sisters: Making Art Meet Emotions
It is said that the greatest pieces of art come from the deepest and most personal parts of an artist’s soul. In a world that is shifting towards isolation, it is more important than ever to create content that touches our hearts, something that will not only build bridges to wipe away our loneliness but also instill deeper empathy for one another. With so much noise out there, only the most authentic and emotionally resonant content will cut through the clutter and capture people’s attention.
Siblings Zainab and Sakina through their Instagram handle @BohraSisters narrate stories with oodles of personal touch. Their work beautifully captures life in the Indian small town through endearing scenes, many of which have heartwarming old Bollywood music playing in the background.
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A Tête-à-Tête with India’s Favorite Artists- Bohra Sisters
The team at From The Experts’ Mouth (FTEM) got in touch with the sisters to learn more about their fantastic journey, what keeps them at their creative best, how despite being a thousand miles apart the duo collaborates so effortlessly and what is their secret sauce to success.
The Making of ‘Bohra Sisters’
What’s your story? Tell us all about the inception of ‘Bohra Sisters’. At what stage did you start thinking of making digital art your profession?
Bohra Sisters: We basically started our Instagram page as a hobby. We wanted to do something in collaboration with each other, where we could both put our hobbies to use; Zainab’s – making animations, and Sakina’s – drawing. Our point was to create hand-drawn animation videos to showcase our childhood memories, something we could later re-visit and smile about. It just so turned out that these videos became something that others also enjoyed and related to.
And, as we started getting noticed, more and more people and organizations started approaching us to make similar animation videos for them. We reached a point where we were getting enough projects that we decided to pursue this full-time.
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How easy or difficult was the process of switching over from the conventional engineering and from regular jobs to your current avatar?
Bohra Sisters: It was actually quite organic. Neither of us was really working a conventional engineering job at the time anyway. We were, in fact, working for a marketing firm while we were running our page as a side hobby. As we started getting popular, we started getting more and more requests to take on projects for different occasions and it demanded our full time focus. Also, we started really enjoying what we were doing, so we decided to pursue it full time. The transition just happened naturally, without us even realizing it.
Did you consciously create Bohra Sisters as a brand? When was the idea of creating the Bohra Sisters brand seeded in your mind? How do you envision Bohra Sisters growing as a brand in future?
Bohra Sisters: As you’ve heard our story, everything came together very organically. We did not start with the mindset that we wanted to get widespread attention and turn this into a full-time business. We just did what naturally came to us.
Going forward too, our primary objective remains the same as it was when we first started – to spread smiles. We will always strive to create everything with true love, and use this platform to spread unadulterated love and happiness.
Creative Inspiration, Challenges and Hacks
What keeps you inspired and at your creative best?
Bohra Sisters: Anything and everything that happens around us. If you see our videos too, they are mostly based on the very small and mundane things that bring happiness to our daily lives. Be it a sip of hot chai on a rainy day, or having a samosa with friends or colleagues by the street side on a busy morning, or even just the sight of tiny chidiya (small bird) rushing in to pick a grain.
This is a much appetizing stop motion animation created by the Bohra Sisters where they fix for their viewers a scrumptious green chutney sandwich!
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You collaborate with each other, despite being thousands of miles apart. What are the challenges associated with remote collaboration for creative projects and what are some of the hacks that have worked for you?
Bohra Sisters: Thankfully, in today’s world, with all the technology around us, that’s hardly an issue. With little coordination, literally, everything can be accomplished online. For us personally, we feel that as long as we are able to communicate our ideas and concepts clearly and coordinate our times efficiently, we don’t face any issues. And, we’ve been doing it for a few years now, so we’ve gotten used to it, and learnt our ways around it.
Your videos and drawings reflect a lot of nostalgia and old-world charm that the audience instantly connects with. Are your works inspired by personal experiences? Who are your favourite singers / musicians?
Bohra Sisters: Absolutely, when we started this page, our main objective was to re-create our childhood memories. The stories, the background songs, everything has a connection to our lives. Our posts talk about our actual childhood experiences. Even the songs that we use are the ones that we grew up listening to. And, that’s the reason why, I feel, that so many people instantly connect with it.
We have so many favourites that it’s hard to name one or two. I think we’re truly blessed because India has had so many legendary musicians and singers. RD Burman, Asha Bhonsle, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Hemant Kumar, there are so many that instantly come to mind.
Related Read: A Childhood Remembered
What is one thing you would do differently, if you had to start from your childhood all over again?
Bohra Sisters: Absolutely nothing! Every mistake, every hurdle teaches you something, and that’s how you grow along, right! If we did not make the mistakes that we did, we wouldn’t have had the growth and development that we experienced.
Related: Have you also had a journey worth sharing? Share your journey with us
A Note for Folks Aspiring to Pursue their Passion
What advice would you give to people in the current times, who know their heart is somewhere else and their current vocation does not give them joy?
Bohra Sisters: Sometimes all it takes is a little hope and some hard work to pull yourself out, and take steps towards fulfilling your true passion.
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Would you like to share your pearls of wisdom with budding artists?
Bohra Sisters: Be true to yourself. The single worst thing you can do is copy someone just because you can see their success. It’s very important to do what makes you truly happy, because only then, you’ll really enjoy the journey, and make the most of it.
“Do Good and Do More” for others. The power of doing something positive for someone else is unmatched.”
Bohra Sisters
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About Bohra Sisters
Bohra Sisters, Zainab and Sakina are members of the Dawoodi Bohra community with their roots in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Despite being continents apart- Sakina from San Francisco in the US and Zainab from Kuwait in West Asia- these two amazingly talented sisters effortlessly bond and collaborate with each other over art projects. This sister-duo uses stop motion and old Bollywood music to animate and create videos, inspired from their lives set during the 80s-90s, that instantly transport audiences to their treasured childhood days.
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