All Entries in the "Rants" Category
Oh dear! Is that an animated Lalu?
Just when I thought that Indian animation had redeemed itself for the atrocious ‘Icy n Spicy’, I received a reminder that we have a long way to go, courtesy - the animated avatar of Lalu Prasad Yadav. A three-member team of enterprising animators from Patna have created a ‘cartoon clip’ based on the Indian Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, and even got his approval for it!
Animated Lalu
Recession in the industry?!! Don’t press the panic button just as yet.
Now that the noise has died down and the dust has settled, the casualty is slowly beginning to show. For two years everyone was shouting from the rooftops about the animation boom in India. Institutes proclaimed India needs animators and ill-informed parents poured out their hard-earned money into many an unworthy school. Many people left their well-paying jobs and successful businesses to enter the animation industry. All of a sudden everyone wanted to be in animation.
The hype was not all bad. Many more people began sitting up and taking notice of this thing called ‘Animation’ than before. Students and parents alike opened their eyes to this new career prospect. Existing animators began celebrating their new-found respect in the eyes of their detractors who had so far looked down upon their choice of vocation. All-in-all the Indian animation industry saw a spurt in interest, enthusiasm, educational avenues and job opportunities. Within a year, more than 70 animated feature films were announced. Actual work began on a far lesser number of movies.
But the latest news coming out of studios is not good. Many production houses and studios have folded up. Others have laid off a majority of their employees. People have woken up to the fact that making an animated film is no cake walk. There may be a lot of enthusiasm and ideas but the lack of funds, acute shortage of ‘talented’ artists and short-sightedness of studios have become major obstacles.
After mytho, what next? Serve old wine in a new bottle!
How do some creative Indian film producers combat the slew of animated mythological movies? By making animated versions of old Hindi classics! Why bother with writing an original story when you can just buy the rights to a successful movie from another era and package it as per the flavour of the season - Animation!
Don’t believe me? Read this news report on Pritish Nandy Communications’ latest venture - animated remakes of three Shakti Samanta golden oldies - Howrah Bridge, Amar Prem and Barsaat Ki Ek Raat.
Pritish Nandy announced, “This is my homage to one of the most underrated filmmakers of the country. When I met Mr. Samanta, he was so pleased to know his films would reach out to a new generation. Howrah Bridge is one of my favourite noire films. The magic of Sachin Dev Burman’s music, the chemistry between Ashok Kumar and Madhubala and the seductive charm of Ashok Kumar’s baritone….all that I want to capture in animation form.”
Icy N Spicy …God help Indian animation!!!
Animation lovers of India, unite! And do something to stop this movie from shaming us in front of the world!
It’s been a long time since I last blogged but this frightening piece of news brought me back from my brief blog hiatus. Apparently, India’s First 3D Mainstream Animation Movie is about to be released on 18th July. It’s called Icy N Spicy - A Journey to Tonga and is produced and directed by Anil Goyal, “a most experience person in the field of 3d animation” (that’s what his website claims). You only need to take a look at the stills from the movie (see below) to know why it is something we all need to seriously worry about.
Getting Indian Animation Right. Why is it such an uphill task?
The world waits eagerly for animated films that the US makes. European countries have had a long standing tradition of animation. Our Asian neighbours like Japan and Korea have also managed to get it right. Then why has it been so tough for India to achieve true animation success?
There are some obvious factors and then there are other reasons which we tend to overlook. As we stand on the threshold of a new chapter for Indian animation, now is the time to take stock and to honestly assess ourselves.
- One of the most common issues that studios raise every time the topic is broached is the severe lack of ‘quality’ talent. India has a rich history and culture of both art and story-telling. Then why is it that we fail so miserably when we need to combine the two? Should we blame the so-called ‘talentless’ animators or the ones who are supposed to have trained them? It is sad but true that many of our institutions, even famous ones, have failed our animators.
- India is a smorgasbord of myriad cultures. We have 22 languages recognized by the constitution and thousands of dialects. It is next to impossible then to group the audience and adhere them to a common cultural trend. Very few live-action films have met with nation-wide audience approval and applause. You only have to look at the regional film culture to see the diversity. Compare the films in Marathi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil and Kannada. They are all significantly different from each other. If, after so many decades of film-making, live-action regional films have not met with pan-Indian success, how can we expect ‘one formula’ to work when it comes to animation?
Aptech going global! What about India?
This isn’t a rant against any particular institute but a general comment on our severely handicapped animation education system. With schools that claim to point their magic wand at ordinary mortals and turn them into animation geniuses proliferating all across the country, I shudder to think of what level of artistry and skill our so called talent pool will have in times to come. The poor, unsuspecting souls who enroll for most of these courses are no more than cannon-fodder for behemoth animation ’schools’ riding on the wave of the global animation boom.
What triggered this tirade? I just read this press release announcing Aptech’s global expansion:
Aptech Global Learning Solutions announced today that it will open its first animation training academy in Brazil in May.
“The centre in Brazil will start functioning within three weeks. We have decided to open 35 new centres in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Russia and Vietnam this fiscal. These centres will be a combination of Arena Animation Academy and Aptech Computer Education training institutes,” Aptech executive director R. Krishnan told IANS.
“We will also be expanding nationally. New centres will be opened this year at Cuttack, Rourkela, Bhubaneswar, Durgapur, Guwahati and Dibrugarh,” he added.
Indian Animation Archive: A vacuum that urgently needs to be filled!
Here is something that should inspire those who care about Indian animation and spur them into action.
The Animation Archive is a project of ASIFA-Hollywood, with support from The Walter Lantz Foundation. In operation for two years now, they have put together a wealth of information. It is an ambitious project to expand the offerings of the current ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Center in Burbank to include a virtual archive, museum, library and research facility for the benefit of the animation community, students and general public.
