Indian animation sector set to grow at 21.8%, says repor

NEW DELHI: India is the sweatshop for the global animation and gaming industry, expected to grow at an estimated 21.8%, but hurdles like dearth of quality talent and studios are issues affecting the nascent industry. According to PricewaterhouseCooper's Indian Entertainment & Media Outlook for 2010, the industry is estimated to grow at Rs 23.8 billion with an increased usage of social gaming and online gaming.According to the report, India continues to leverage its low cost advantage combined with the entreprenuerial drive of its companies to position itself on the global front but issues that are acting as hurdles include dearth of quality talent in animation and VFX, piracy affecting gaming industry, expensive hardware delaying the penetration of console gaming and lack of quality studios for high-end animation.India's entertainment and media industry is forecast to grow by 12.4% annually to reach a size of over Rs 1.04 lakh crore by 2014, on the back of recovery in advertising and consumer spending, the study said. "The industry is expected to touch Rs 1,04,000 crore, growing cumulatively at 12.4% by 2014," the report said. The industry witnessed a very slow growth at 2.2% in 2009 amid the global downturn that affected India partially.This slump was largely due to the lower-than-expected uptake in advertisement spend, which registered no growth, and therefore affected sectors like print, radio as well as internet advertising. "Many of the factors, which caused the slowdown in 2009, are not likely to persist. With confidence returning alongside a likely increase in consumer and advertisement spends, the E&M industry is looking to get back to the high-growth trajectory," PwC India entertainment & media practice leader Timmy S Kandhari said.

Television is projected to continue to be the major contributor to the overall revenue pie of India's E&M industry. TV is estimated to grow at a stable rate of 12.9% cumulatively, over the next five years, to Rs 48,800 crore by 2014 from an estimated Rs 26,550 crore in 2009, the PwC report stated.

Mahatama Gandhi National Foundation set to release 2D animation film ‘My Dear Bapuji

The Mahatama Gandhi National Foundation is planning to release a 2D animation film on Mahatama Gandhi titled ‘My Dear Bapuji‘ on August 15th 2010. The 45 min 2D animated biography made at a budget of INR 17 lakhs is produced in Malayalam and will be dubbed in English, Hindi and other languages.The film is made by Mahatama Gandhi National Foundation, produced by Kochi based animation studio Krinsha Infotech and is part of the propaganda at the national level-Know Gandhiji- with a view to impart Gandhiji‘s ideals to the young generation. The film is set to be released for the television medium initially and later on for the home video market as well which would be made available in both CDs and DVDs.

Speaking to AnimationXpress.com Krishna Infotech CEO and Producer of the film Retheesh Pazhayaveettil said "The project of the animation film was triggered by an earnest longing to keep Gandhiji alive in the hearts of the young generation. We felt there is need that the younger generation should know about the life of Gandhiji and the best medium to tell it in an interesting manner was the animation medium. The next in the line would be a film on Subash Chandra Bose that we are working on."Produced by Retheesh Pazhayaveettil and Directed by A.K Saibar, the animation for the film is done by a small team at Krishna Infotech in about 15 months. The film is targeted towards young children, for them to know about the life of Gandhiji and the programme aims at warning the children about the evils of racism and terrorism.

The story is that three children come across a Genie who enlightens them on how to be successful in life by gaining knowledge. Children ask the Genie about Mahatma Gandhi. The Genie assumes the shape of their favorite Meena teacher and narrates Gandhiji‘s life to the children. The significant happenings throughout Gandhiji‘s life are presented in the film. Gandhiji‘s honesty, nonviolent strikes, his good heartedness and secular outlook are all briefly dealt with in this animation film aiming at creating awareness in children of the great ideals of the Father of our nation. Gandhiji‘s birth, his mother‘s devotion to God, the stories of his honesty in school years, the story of Sravanakumaran from the Puranas which enhances one‘s love for one‘s parents, the incident in which Gandhiji as a boy does penance before his father for dishonesty, the way he keeps his promise to his mother while living in London, the discrimination meted out to him during a train journey in South Africa and how this initiates him into public activities, how he becomes a leader of the struggle for freedom, the first harthal, the massacre of Jalian Wala Bag, the non-cooperation movement, the salt strike, Jinnah‘s insistence on forming Pakistan, Gandhiji‘s secularist ideals, racial revolts and Gandhiji‘s views on the mediocrity in India are the major themes covered. The narration winds up with the brutal assassination of the Mahatma by Godse. The potential viewers being children, the whole presentation has been rendered in keeping with their tastes and interests. The work is fast nearing completion at the Krishna Infotech, Vaittila, Kochi.The Foundation also has plans to produce animation films on great freedom fighters like Subash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh and Chandrasekhar Azad, among others. Krishna Infotech was started in 2007 and was initially called Cat Animation and has produced 140X5 min episodes television series of popular Malayalam comics Bobanum Moliyum

Zapak brings leading North American toy maker - Spin Master to India

Zapak Games, the licensing & merchandising arm of Zapak Digital Entertainment Ltd has announced its association with global toy maker Spin Master Ltd., who according to NPD Data is North America‘s 3rd largest toy company. 

Zapak Games will be the exclusive distributor for many of Spin Master‘s largest brands in India. The launch of Spin Master toys in India will be divided in phases. The initial phase will be in July 2010, which will include globally recognized brands like, Air Hogs (Toy of the Year 2002), Bendaroos, GloDoodle, Liv Dolls and Moon Sand (Toy of the Year 2007).Commenting on this association, Vaibhav Odhekar, Business Head, Zapak Games said, "We are thrilled to have associated with Spin Master, Zapak Games is already amongst the top 10 licensing & merchandising brands in the country and this association will help us make a stronger footprint in the toy and merchandise business in India and at the same time help us build a strong brand in the kids segment. With Spin Master‘s toys we will look at introducing creative and innovative experience to the Indian audience.Commenting on the association, Allan Rabie, Director International Sales, Spin Master said "We at Spin Master are extremely excited to expand into this vast and diverse country with Zapak. Zapak has the credentials and experience to execute our business to become a major force in India; we couldn‘t be more thrilled about this partnership. A multi-category children‘s entertainment company since 1994, Spin Master has been designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing award winning consumer products for children around the world and is recognized as a global growth leader within the toy industry with distribution in more than 65 countries.Zapak Games is a leader in Gaming CDs and merchandise in India. With a massive distribution network of over 5000 Retail Outlets in more than 144 cities, Zapak Games has built one of the most comprehensive distribution networks in the country.