Indian Animation's taking baby steps

The top honchos of the Indian animation industry love the term “tip of the iceberg”. It’s a phrase they use quite often when talking about the scope of animation in India and how it is the next big thing on the Indian entertainment horizon.For, as far as Indian animation is concerned, the fun, it seems, is just beginning. According to a recent Nasscom report, the global animation market is estimated to touch a whopping US $80 billion by 2010. Much of this growth is expected to be fed by work outsourced to countries like India. Consequently, the Indian animation industry is expected to grow at a frantic pace to reach $1 billion by 2010 from its current size of approximately $ 300 million. Already, the demand for trained professionals in the field has skyrocketed. An estimated two to three lakh animation professionals would be required in India alone by 2009, leading to inevitable comparisons with the software boom that happened almost 10 years ago. It’s only been a few years since the animation industry in the country has got a kick-start, although animation has been around for a long time.
Over a period of time, Indian studios have also realised the potential of owning content. there is a scramble to develop locally identifiable characters — that can help tap the vast domestic audience. This might just explain the long line-up of Indian animation movies featuring mythological heroes. Many studios are even shifting focus from overseas projects to actively pursue the domestic market.there are a number of challenges that the industry currently faces— the biggest being lack of trained manpower . Moreover, in an animation film, a fine balance has to be struck between technical craftsmanship and the art of telling a good story. This can be quite difficult to achieve, especially when trying to woo Indian audiences, who have been exposed to high quality animation productions from Hollywood .
Levitating superheroes, green ogres and wisecracking toons, animation's about making fantasy real. But this isn’t a fantasy. Made in India animation has gone global. Be it converting horses into centaurs for The Chronicles of Narnia to the latest outing of The Incredible Hulk, the credit for many a mind-blowing special effect goes to desi artists. At the Mumbai and Hyderabad studios of LA-based animation company Rhythm & Hues (R&H), Indian staffers bridged time zones and geographical distance to work on the Hulk with specialists at their Hollywood office. They’re smiling now that the giant has raked in $55.4m at the North American box office. R&H is working on films like Mummy 3, Cirque Du Freak and They Came From Upstairs.With traditional hand-drawn imagery losing out to digital animation produced entirely on computers using 3-D graphics, India’s software and computer skills have given it an edge over other animation outsourcing destinations like Philippines and China. It’s also a competitive alternative. A typical half-hour 3D CGI animation TV episode that would cost $170,000-250,000 to make in the US costs about $70,000 to $100,000 to make in India, estimates Nasscom. Little wonder that firms like DQ Entertainment have seen orders for cartoon serials, computer games and direct-to-home DVDs pouring in from studios like Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and others. DQ Entertainment has secured worldwide rights for Casper. The economics are compelling, but an acute talent crunch that is pushing up salaries may blunt the country’s edge, fear many. “Recently, India lost two films to China. In face of competition from cheaper destinations, India will have to move up the value chain,” says Balgam of R&H.