THROUGH A LENS, VIRTUALLY

This year, the Indian animation industry got an ego boost thanks to Apurva Shah, the animator of Ratatouille, which won the Oscar in the Best Animated Feature Film category. Shah, who has his roots in Godhra, has also worked on other highly entertaining films like Shrek and Finding Nemo. So this is a good time for Bollywood to join the toon business—when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is raising a toast to Indian animation.

Incidentally, also at the Academy Awards this year, there were reports of how the organisers had to answer questions on why France’s Persepolis, a groundbreaking animated wonder, was omitted from its list of nominees in the Best Foreign Film category. The movie was nominated in the Best Animated Feature Film category but ultimately lost to Ratatouille. The film, a story of a young Iranian girl whose world changes as the fundamentalists take over her country, has been rated by several critics, like the BBC’s Tim Robbins, as the best film to come out of 2007.
Persepolis, like the other Indian animation movies in the pipeline, is not a children’s film. These Indian movies, besides being technologically superior, are moving away from over-simplified, exclusively for children’s stuff, to more mature and wholesome entertainment.

“Animation is a huge mode of entertainment across the world, though its presence was not felt in India till recently,” says Soundarya, whose Ochre Studios will co-produce Sultan with Adlabs Films. “I thought animating my father would be a great visual treat for the audience. And it will be even better if he is shown 20 years younger.”
According to Nasscom figures, the Indian animation industry, currently pegged at US $550 million, is expected to grow by 30 per cent annually and touch US $1.3 billion by 2010.

Bollywood, with its glamour and star cast, has joined in the movement. Roadside Romeo will have voice-overs by Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Aishwarya Rai might lend her voice in Percept Picture Company’s The Prince of Love, to be made by Kamlesh Pandey. Nikhil Advani’s Orion Pictures too is coming up with Ab Dilli Door Nahi that promises a big star cast.
Soundarya’s Sultan flaunts a huge budget of Rs 40 crore (US $10-12 million) and Toonpur is pegged at the same amount too. In early 2000, Hanuman was made on a mere Rs 6 to Rs 7 crore.

“Today, we have the technology and skilled professionals to compete with world-class animation films,” says Devgan. Toonpur, directed by Kireet Khurana, will have a combination of animated and live characters and tell the story of a superstar who accidentally becomes a real-life hero. “The script is terrific and has all the elements of commercial success. Its budget is justified and its recovery should not be an issue,” Devgan reasons. “Not just children, adults too are our target audience,” says the film’s producer, Kumar Mangat.

Percept Picture Company (PPC) has in the offing Jumbo, Return of Ravana (both Rs-25 crore films) and another untitled venture that will cost US $25 million. UTV has signed an agreement with Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment to co-produce animation films. “This kind of investment was unimaginable even three years back when people were not ready to make Rs 2.5 crore animation movies,” says Khurana, the director of Toonpur.

Animation films have a longer shelf life. In 2003, Hanuman made a 20-25 per cent profit that included the sale of DVDs and merchandise. With the rise of multiplexes and the trend of releasing movies with a huge number of prints, producers and directors are not concerned about the recovery of budgets. “Animation as a genre requires such budgets. The pre-and post-productions need more than 18 months. Besides, 100-200 animators are involved in a big project,” says Alpana Mishra, head, productions, UTV Motion Pictures.

The trend is also to drift to more mature subjects. For instance, UTV’s Dream Blanket is a “dark fairy tale” that narrates the dream-like journey of a girl who searches for something that is very close to her heart. The company’s other interesting productions are Alibaba and Arjuna; the latter shows the transformation of the Pandava brother from an innocent young boy to a master warrior. “Till now, the Indian audience has not seen anything worthwhile in animation. A good original story will make a difference,” says Simi Nallaseth, director of Dream Blanket.
“It’s important to select stories that will appeal to a large section of the audience. We’ve recognised the need to have a bigger audience,” adds Mishra.

However, the animated remakes of successful Hindi films are evoking curiosity. Feroz Nadiadwala’s Hera Pheri series and Pritish Nandy Communications’ Sholay are significant ventures along with Johar’s Kootchie Kootchie, which will have the same love story retold through the lives of dogs. “The challenge is even bigger for animated remakes because people have already seen the stories. These remakes have to be made extra-ordinarily,” says Preet Bedi, CEO, PPC.

Filmmakers are ready to tap the global market and thus create a niche for Indian animation. “Sultan will be released in 12 different languages. Apart from Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, we will release it in English, French, Japanese and Zulu,” says Soundarya. Devgan’s Toonpur too will be dubbed in multiple languages, including English and other Indian languages. At present, the primary challenge is to move away from amateurish production values and clichéd stories. Post the success of Hanuman, the industry saw look-alike films like Bal Ganesh that failed to pull crowds.

For instance, UTV’s Dream Blanket will have its animation styled on the Tibetan art form, Tankha. “We’ve used elements of Northeastern art in the picturisation to keep the audience hooked,” says Nallaseth.
From 2-D animation, the films are moving to 3-D models. “Our technology has become more advanced. Besides, all Indian studios have facilities of high-grade animation work,” says Khurana.

Aamir Khan’s Taare Zameen Par, released last December to critical and commercial nods, set an instance of superbly-created animated sequences. “Clay animation was used in Taare. In this process, 3-D clay models are manually moved and then photographed. This was the first time that a Hindi movie used the technique,” says Dhimant Vyas, chief animator for Taare.

However, Indian animation is still not ready for adult themes and dark and serious subjects, a concept delightfully exploited in the west. In the early seventies, American director Ralph Bakshi pioneered adult animation with films like Fritz the Cat and Heavy Traffic. The animated sequences in Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 film Kill Bill were violent and it didn’t go down well with middle America. But as Khurana says, “First it’s crucial for the current crop of movies to be successful in India.”