Monday, January 26, 2004		Feature

Jadoo inspires Indian animators
Priyanka Khanna

Animation may be the next big thing for Bollywood, after sci-fi musical, Koi Mil Gaya, broke new ground last year.

Though Jadoo, the alien in the film starring Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta, was not the best example of special effects and animation, its popularity among children made many in the business sit up and take notice.

And that has given a boost to the animation industry. India is now poised to take a big slice of the global animation industry pie that many analysts say will cap exponential growth in the years ahead.

The incredible success of a clutch of cartoon networks in India has also fuelled a spurt in animation programmes. Increasingly, international networks are using content developed locally.

The popular Cartoon Network has already premiered two feature-length 3D animation shows titled Pandavas - The Five Warriors and Sinbad - Beyond the Veil of Mists made by Indian companies.

Analysts say the Indian animation industry, currently pegged at $ 550 million, is expected to clock a growth rate of 30 per cent annually in the next three years and is expected to reach $15 billion by 2008. In the next three years, India would receive over $2 billion worth of business in the animation sector.

Furthermore, the international animation industry is increasingly looking eastwards as the cost of real sets, studio space and outdoor locations go up elsewhere.

That India has one of the biggest film industries in the world and a reputation for low-cost high-quality software engineers makes for a killing combination that can give traditional hubs of animation a run for their money.

Samir Hoon, special effects wizard and the brain behind several Hollywood blockbusters, said last month: "India has become an important outsourcing destination due to a large English-speaking population, adequate animation capacity in 12 studios conforming to global standards, state-of-the-art computer hardware and software platform and above all, the low-cost factor.

"The cheaper rate of producing animation in India has made it one of the upcoming markets in the world in the field of animation," said Hoon, who has provided special effects for blockbusters like Star Wars, Jurassic Park and 101 Dalmatians.

Ram Mohan of Graphiti Multimedia says the big change over the years is that India is not aping the West but that animation is looking towards Indian culture, society and folklore for inspiration.

Some pioneering work is also happening on the technical front, with a company claiming to have found a major breakthrough in the area of 3D animation in Hindi movies. The company says it has successfully mixed a 3D character with live action for Fun2shh, a box-office dud.

Pentamedia Graphics was in the news for a marketing deal with global retail giant Wal-Mart for taking its properties to international customers. The first product would be Ali Baba.

This apart, reports say Pentamedia’s 3D animation feature, Son of Aladdin, which has been doing the rounds of the theatrical circuit in the US from July 2003, has made it to the first batch of selections for the Oscar awards.

The company is reportedly giving the finishing touches to the $6.3 million 2D animation feature, Buddha, which is being co-produced with the Singapore Economic Development Board.