So who is Sheikh Muhammad Munajid and why is he accusing our beloved rodents? The Telegraph, UK, reports that he is a cleric and a former diplomat at the Saudi embassy in Washington DC, said that under Sharia, both household mice and their cartoon counterparts must be killed. Mr Munajid was asked to give Islam’s teaching on mice during a religious affairs programme broadcast on al-Majd TV, an Arab television network.

According to a translation prepared by the Middle East Media Research Institute, an American press monitoring service, he said: “The mouse is one of Satan’s soldiers and is steered by him. If a mouse falls into a pot of food – if the food is solid, you should chuck out the mouse and the food touching it, and if it is liquid – you should chuck out the whole thing, because the mouse is impure. According to Islamic law, the mouse is a repulsive, corrupting creature. How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry? Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice. Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases.”

Hmmm… I wonder what he would have to say about Ratatouille who is not just cute and adorable but a chef!

Indiagames, India’s benchmark online and mobile games company and a leading global developer and publisher of mobile games and the E-Sports Council of India announced the formation of India’s first professional gaming team – Indian Inferno.

Team Indian Inferno comprises of Rueben Pereira, India’s No.1 FIFA player and the only Indian gamer to win a medal at the World Cyber Games Asia. Indian Inferno also comprises of India’s No.1 ‘Counter Strike’ game team led by Mikhail MehraAmar Ratnam, Ritesh Shah, Ben Varghese with and Pranay Bhatia. This team won the World Cyber Games-India event in 2007 in addition to winning other gaming tournaments across India.

Some Quotes…

Vishal Gondal, CEO Indiagames said “This is a major step in positioning E-sports as a viable career option amongst the Indian youth. This is the first time that an Indian team will be managed at every stage of their gaming career. Amar, Ben, Mikhail, Pranay, Ritesh and Rueben are extremely talented and we are sure that with the right professional guidance and exposure, they would be able to make a mark for India on the international competitive gaming scene”.

Says, Rueben Pereira, “I have been associated with Indiagames for a long time now and they have played a key role in supporting me and shaping my career as a competitive gamer”

Adds Mikhail Mehra, captain of the Counter Strike Team, “Being professionally managed is going to help us concentrate on improving our gaming skills, while the team atmosphere helps keep the competitive and motivational forces active”

As part of the agreement Indian Inferno will represent Indiagames in both national and international gaming tournaments as well as conduct nationwide gaming workshops for aspiring gamers. Indiagames will in turn manage their gaming careers in terms of endorsements, providing world class training facilities and a platform to showcase their talent. In addition to Indian Inferno, Indiagames also intends to support city specific gaming teams.

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ABOUT INDIAGAMES LTD .
Indiagames Ltd is India’s benchmark mobile and online games company and a leading global mobile game publisher. The Company is engaged in publishing and developing games across various platforms including Online and Mobile. Indiagames’ products are developed and published across all major technology platforms and are distributed through partnerships with mobile operators in over 75 countries.

In India, the Company also distributes games via its consumer focused website and operates a broadband Games on Demand service located at http://www.indiagames.com. Indiagames has over 300 employees and offices in Mumbai, London, Los Angeles & Beijing. Internationally the company publishes mobile titles via its IG FUN brand. Key investors include UTV – India’s foremost Media & Entertainment Company, Adobe Inc., and Cisco Systems Inc.

Indiagames, IG FUN and Beat This are trademarks of Indiagames Ltd.

ABOUT THE E-SPORTS COUNCIL OF INDIA (ESC-I)
The E-Sports Council of India” (ESC-I) is a centralized administrative and governing body for the competitive gaming industry in India. Its primary objective is to plan, regulate and organize e-sports events at various levels. ESC-I is a common platform for competitive gamers, event managers and potential sponsors. Under its aegis, ESC-I will introduce scholarship programs, training for both, gamers and game officials, seminars, counseling and also organize International tournaments like WCG, WCG Asia, the national gaming league – GoD League and the Indo-Pak Cup amongst others.

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.

Until now, I have written about various Indian animated films to watch out for. Brilliant stories, outstanding visuals, hard-working Indian animators, studios with vision. Kutti Chetan, Cheenti Cheenti Bang Bang, Little Pandavas… and many more. But this absurdly named film - Icy N Spicy - is so pathetic, it shouldn’t even be released!

I haven’t seen anything as juvenile as this in a long, long time. I had to pinch myself several times over to make sure it wasn’t a bad nightmare that I was having. I don’t know what “advanced technologies and software” (again, their claim!) they have used to create the film but by all means, the character design is as primitive as could possibly be. I think even the freshest of animation students do a better job. As seen in many of the recent Indian animated releases, the stills and promo pictures are often far superior to the final animated film. Going by the appalling quality of the stills of “Icy n Spicy”, I dread to think of what the actual film might be like. They haven’t even spared the Disney “D” by incorporating it into their poster.

It is indeed a very sad state of affairs that talentless people are getting funded and absolute rubbish is being touted with the “India” sticker on it. You even have some of the best mainstream singers lending their voices to this film and from the publicity write-ups, it seems like this film will get worldwide release. What astounds me is that the film has been written about in several leading publications all over India. Makes me think, is it just a matter of paying a fee to get oneself written about in the Indian Press? Just goes to show the wonders a good PR company can do for you.

In the rush to make India’s First 3D Mainstream Animation Movie, the creators have overlooked everything from story to character design to quality. Like frogs in a well, clueless about the world outside, their site is full of praise for the film, oblivious to the fact that it makes them look even more ridiculous. They are only going to make a fool of themselves. In their race to be first and win accolades, they will flush India’s reputation in the animation industry down the drain!

On one hand you have a lot of Indian studios and production houses creating fabulous films - features, shorts and advertisements. They have put in years of hard work into their creations. We even have international studios shaking hands with Indian ones, impressed by their quality of animation. And here, you have a delusional company that is touting first generation animation as India’s best!

Nothing about the film is original. Neither the story nor the characters. The boy and girl protagonists look like they have severe physical disabilities. Their mentor, Gantoo, is yet another take on Lord Ganesh (ho hum!) and the villain is an extremely unoriginal and unimpressive derivative of the time-tested character of a djinn. The backgrounds are worse than the ones in early games that we played on our PCs. They claim they will create history. Yes, I’m sure they will - as the one shoddy film that destroyed the reputation of Indian animation.

Just so that you do not think this scathing review is unnecessary, here are a few more stills from the film. You decide whether or not my rant is justified.

If you have still not fainted with fright, please join me in my prayer…

For the sake of Indian animation and of all the talented, aspiring Indian animators, I fervently pray that this film never sees the light of day. And if it does, I hope our audiences evince their intelligence by booing the makers all the way back to their drawing boards.

If you still have the stomach for more such horrors, please visit the Icy N Spicy website but be warned, you are doing so at your own risk!

I am really looking forward to this. I don’t have the details but once I do, I shall put them up here on the blog. It is sad that they seem to be releasing the film only in 3 metros. I am sure there are a lot of people in smaller cities who would have liked to see this beautiful film.

Persepolis is writer-director Marjane Satrapi’s magical and ingenious award-winning story of a young girl coming of age in Iran, that is both lively and thought-provoking. The animated film is an adaptation of graphic novels about her childhood. Persepolis, which has won, among others, the Jury Prize at the Festival de Cannes in 2007, and an Oscar nomination in 2008 sees Iran through the eyes of the precocious and outspoken nine-year-old Marjane. Critically acclaimed and widely enjoyed, Persepolis is a magical and ingenious film based on Satrapi’s own experiences of growing up in an increasingly fundamentalist Iran.

NDTV Lumière is the first movement of its kind in India that aims to meet the long-existing need of film enthusiasts. It will provide access to top quality cinema from across the world, premiering the best of world cinema in Indian theatres. The films from NDTV Lumière will span across genres from drama, animation and comedy to horror, thrillers and political dramas. These films include popular, critically acclaimed films from across the world and also the finest award-winning international cinema international film festivals. At NDTV Lumière, the endeavour is to create awareness of current global trends in an industry that is constantly evolving with the continuous influx of new talent, and to offer audiences a wider variety of films to choose from.

The Annecy Festival is exactly a week away and with India as the Focus Country this year; everyone is excited about the implications. NASSCOM is taking a large Indian delegation to Annecy including some of the biggest and best studios in India - Toonz Animation, Paprikaas, Accel Animation, Sanra, Kahani World, Big Animation, FX Labs, ettaminA, Blowfish FX, Dawson, Cornershop, Graphiti, Green Gold, Picasso Digital, to name just a few.

NASSCOM is organizing THE INDIA PAVILLION together with Government of India - Ministry of Information & Broadcasting at Annecy 2008 – the world’s largest creative festival for animators and the animation world.

The 27 square meters large ‘Indian Pavilion’ is the largest showcase of Indian animation companies at any single event and the stand will present the logos, play the show reel and display the logos of all the participating companies. The ministry and trade delegation will be meeting several counterparts from other countries and discussions will range from proposing growth initiatives including co-production treaties, reciprocal participation in trade shows and official visits by trade delegations between themselves. To celebrate the ‘Spotlight on India’, NASSCOM and the delegation will be the hosts for the opening gala evening on the 10th where an Indian Fair has been planned. A show-reel of student and professional films compiled by ASIFA India will also be showcased by the delegation. A handbook on India, with updated information on the industry and profiles of visiting delegates will be presented.

Speaking about this Col. S V Ramachandran, Regional Director, NASSCOM said, “NASSCOM Animation and Gaming Forum has decided to participate in selected international markets as a platform to present the Indian Industry. MIFA at Annecy is the largest ‘pure play’ animation market and NASSCOM’s participation last year convinced us about the possibilities for our members and the positive role the government can play in turbo powering some of the initiatives.”

I caught up with Biren Ghose, CEO Kahani World Inc. and Chairman of the NASSCOM Animation & Gaming Forum and here is what he had to share about NASSCOM’s role at Annecy and in the country’s Animation and Gaming scenario.

Q. As Nasscom delegate, what are you planning for the Indian Delegation to do at at Annecy 2008?

Biren: I have suggested that the main agenda for this delegation is to launch in the animation world the same main agenda that represents NASSCOM’s winning formula in the Indian IT industry. The goal at Annecy will be to use the festival and its spotlight on India to take forward the Indian animation in a glamorous and focused manner.

NASSCOM has a 7 point focus and our team will meet various people across these topics. These are:
1. Strengthen the brand equity of India for outsourcing and products
2. Partner with Government of India and State Governments in formulating enabling policies and legislation. Partner with global stakeholders for promoting the industry in global markets coproductions, etc.
3. Continue to be the thought leaders in creating the industry information for animation, gaming and VFX and deliver world-class research and strategic inputs for the industry and its stakeholders.
4. Expand the quantity and quality of the talent pool in India
5. Continuous engagement with all member companies and stakeholders to devise strategies to achieve shared aspirations for the industry and the country.
6. Encourage and facilitate members to uphold world class quality standards and enhance operational excellence.
7. Aim to uphold Intellectual Property Rights of its members.

Q. What are the main events that the team is participating in?

Biren: There are different team members and they will derive different benefits at the festival.

The India Pavilion will:
a) Act as a nodal point to receive enquiries for products services and collaborations with the delegation members.
b) Provide the professional syndicated showcase which will enable countries irrespective of their size to present their credentials in the international market.
c) Disseminate information on the Indian market and profiles of the delegations
d) Act as a networking point through the daily wine and cheese networking afternoons to the end of each market day! [3.30 to 4.30pm on the 11th to the 13th June 2008 at the India pavilion]
e) Develop a presence in a location that becomes a standard meeting point for companies that want to do business with India particularly the creative talent and producers from UK & Europe.

The Power Panel [on the morning of 12th June, Thursday] will:
a) Formally announce the government’s participation and patronage for this sector. Ms. Asha Swarup, the Secretary [the highest official in the Indian Government] for the information and broadcasting ministry is personally coming to chair the panel and to assess the potential for the Indian industry in the future.
b) The NASSCOM President, Mr. Som Mittal, is personally coming to his 1st international market in this sector to show solidarity with the initiative.
c) The Power Panel will have a mix of the Indian team presenting their viewpoints and also expatriates pointing out why India is such a strategic location for the future.

The Gala Evening is the best way to create an Indian buzz – we are expecting that the entire opening party shall have an Indian theme!

Q. You have been to various international animation events. What, in your opinion, makes Annecy particularly popular?

Biren: Annecy has already become a favourite business development venue exclusively dedicated to animation for (a) concluding European-Indian co-productions, (b) advancing strategic alliances, (c) seeing cutting-edge new pitches and competition films, (d) being the most beautiful surroundings in which the market is held. I am delighted that we have over 20 companies signed on to be center-stage at the MIFA market. The approval of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to participate at Annecy to help promote the Indian industry is a significant honour and breakthrough for the industry and they are working to reciprocate the government’s interest in powering this sector.

Q. Annecy is also a major festival for competition and exhibition. Is that also of interest?

Biren: NASSCOM also works with academic and industry advisors to formulate world-leading operational excellence standards. The forum is considering putting up a major festival and, for the past few years, already runs the “creative super pitch” which is the #1 pitching event in India attended by the best jurors from across broadcasters, distributors, etc. The Government has also asked NASSCOM to advise it on a national; Animation & Gaming School to be put up by the Government of India as a model institution.

Q. What is NASSCOM?

Biren: NASSCOM® is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the Information Technology & Business Process Outsourcing industry in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1200 members, of which over 250 are global companies from across the US, UK, EU and Asia -Pacific. NASSCOM’s members are in the business of Services, Products, Technology Infrastructure Management, R&D services, E-commerce & Web services. Engineering services offshoring and Animation and Gaming are the sunrise sectors.

NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in these fields in India and employs over 2 million professionals. It therefore is the #1 in its representation. It is a not-for-profit organization.

NASSCOM has been a strong proponent of global free trade. It is committed to work proactively to encourage its members to adopt world class management practices, uphold highest standards in quality, security and innovation and work to retain India’s competitive position in a dynamic world with sweeping changes. It anticipates that, by 2010, India’s IT-BPO industry could potentially generate US$60 billion in export revenues, account for 8 percent of the India’s GDP, pay for a massive infrastructure build-out and sustain around 10 million jobs.

Q. What are the aims and objectives of NASSCOM?

Biren: Among its ‘Aims and Objectives’ is to drive the overall growth of the global sourcing market and maintain India’s leadership position, by taking up the role of a strategic advisor to member companies in the Indian IT-BPO sector. NASSCOM’s varied strengths include creating and influencing government and public policy, international trade development, research and market intelligence services, and access to an international network through 17 Memorandums of Understanding and linkages with 40 industry associations across the globe. This enables NASSCOM to advise members – both established and emerging companies to further their growth.

Q. Does NASSCOM cover all aspects of India or is it confined only to big companies in big cities?

Biren: NASSCOM endeavors to narrow the digital divide in India and enable all citizens particularly the economically deprived sections to get the benefits of technology. It is working with many state governments to use animation as a means to develop employment including in smaller towns. There is also a pioneering initiative in the social sector being championed by the NASSCOM Foundation, a separate trust set up to create this empowerment for the under privileged.

Thanks, Biren! We will catch up with you soon to learn more about the NASSCOM Animation and Gaming Forum.

Attendees at nextMEDIA gain an expert understanding of the most important areas of development in the interactive media industry and learn how to create and execute profitable digital media strategies.

AAA caught up with Biren Ghose, CEO of Kahani World Inc. who is one of the prominent speakers at the digital content show in Banff, Alberta, Canada from the 6th to 8th June 2008, where India is featured as the “emerging market” for discussion. Biren Ghose will be presenting his thesis on “Storytelling 2.0″ which will explore how storytelling will change in a world where the viewer will influence its course.

There is a panel on emerging markets where key decision makers from major media companies network in a retreat based environment. Key participants featured here include:

Jim Louderback, CEO, Revision3
Leader of one of the world’s most successful Internet TV platforms.

Joseph Ferreira, GM & SVP of CBS Audience Network, CBS Interactive, CBS
Senior executive who oversee programming and syndication decisions for the newly-created and recently-launched CBS Audience Network.

Biren Ghose, President and CEO, Kahani World Inc.
Team leader at Kahani Word Inc. and principal innovator of “Indian/Asian-themed” animated movies with the strong potential for computer and mobile games, licensing and merchandising.

James Cooper, Creative Director, Another Anomaly
Award-winning creative director responsible for developing the agency’s products and non-traditional partnerships.

Jeff Barr, Senior Web Services Evangelist, Amazon.com
Responsible for furthering awareness of web services and inspiring developers to create innovative applications using Amazon Web Services.

Claude Galipeau, VP Interactive, Astral Media Inc.
Executive responsible for the digital strategy of Astral’s three business lines: radio, TV, and outdoor display advertising.

Jeremy Wright, CEO & President, b5media
Serial entrepreneur and head of one of North America’s leading blog networks.

Stephan Argent, VP, Digital Media, CTV
Executive responsible for CTV’s digital media strategy and initiatives across all digital platforms.

David U.K., Managing Director, Heavy.com (Canada)
14-year media veteran responsible for Heavy’s Canadian operations, including revenue, ad sales, programming, content licensing and distribution.

Dominique-Sebastien Forest, General Manager, Digital Media and E-commerce, Quebecor Media Inc.
Senior executive responsible for Canoe’s digital content and wireless distribution strategy; also in charge of building and operating a new e-commerce global environment for Quebecor Media online activities.

Kevin Bartus, VP of Digital Media, Rogers Media
Executive responsible for the digital and on-line assets of Rogers Media Inc.

Maria Hale, VP Content, Product & Services, TELUS
Executive responsible for acquiring and managing content featured across TELUS TV, broadband and mobile

The India panel gives a chance for the entire conference to meet the players who are leading the digital media industry in India. They will present the opportunities that are emerging and how to access India across media platforms both traditional and emerging from the perpspective of entertainment, publishing and mobile. The panel is comprised of:

* Neeraj Roy, Managing Director & CEO, Hungama Mobile
* Parmesh Shahani, Head of Vision and Opportunities, Mahindra & Mahindra
* Gaurav Dhillon, CEO, Jaman
* Gotham Chopra, Chief Creative Officer, Virgin Comics
* Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman & CEO, Rediff.com
* Biren Ghose, CEO & President, Kahani World Inc.

“It’s one thing to talk about 360 degree content, but quite another to be able to successfully create and adapt stories and yet make them compelling across the convergence media chain of platforms! My session on Storytelling 2.0 will be a sharing of the paradigm with other experts that spend their waking hours trying to find formats and attention as storytelling moves to the iPods, PDAs, screens in malls and of course the web! Of course my accent will be on the youth and on animation! The age of user generated storied and collaborative themes all add to the complexity and fun in being a content player in this future space!” said Biren Ghose and went on to add, “As regards the emerging markets panel with old friends like Neeraj Roy, partners like Gotham Chopra and stalwarts like Ajit on the India panel I think the Indian flag will flap strong over this most delightful of venues at Banff!”

The Fairmont Banff Springs is one of the world’s finest heritage resorts. Modeled after a Scottish baronial castle and set amid the grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, “The Springs” is a grand and gracious edifice, combining timeless elegance and 38,000 sqaure foot spa facilities! “If this bunch of folks did not think digital content was fun, they would not have come to such a beautiful place to work!” concluded Biren.

The planning was perfect, arrangements flawless and the least possible glitches ensured that everyone had a lot of fun and went back having gained something. Newbies, students, job-seekers, curious spectators, anxious parents of would-be animation students, were all milling around together in the two main halls and two smaller ones.

The event began on the right note by starting on time, which is a rarity these days. (God forbid you reach an event before time, you will be left cooling your heels for 2 hours before there is any sign of life! Thankfully, here it was not the case.)

RK Chand from CGTantra and Jigar Parekh from Nine - Making it Possible performed a small ‘pooja’ to begin with.

The show was inaugurated by volunteers, two girls who had come all the way from Jharkhand to be part of the expo. It was a genuinely nice gesture on the part of the organizers to show their appreciation towards the community that has actually contributed towards the success CGTantra.

The crowd began arriving early on Saturday morning. In the foreground is Laura Dohrmann from NVIDIA. Also seen in the middle of the crowd is Nigel Sumner, scene supervisor for ILM who has worked on films like Transformers, Terminator 3, Space Cowboys, Jurassic Park III, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Van Helsing, The Hulk, The Perfect Storm, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, War of the Worlds, Poseidon and Eragon.

The 2 day event organised by CGTantra with the help of Nine, went off smoothly right from the word GO. Apart from volunteers from Mumbai, there were students from all over India who had come just for the event, not only to participate but to help and to volunteer.

The opening speeches!

Student competitions in progress throughout the 2 days of the event.

Bang in the center of the hall was the Frameboxx pavilion which was also probably the liveliest and noisiest stall in the entire expo! Their yellow and black branding was everywhere as the team gave demos to curious visitors and prospective Frameboxx students alike. Large banners announced forthcoming projects including a Character Design contest that begins on the 28th of May.

Also present were Hardware vendors like NVIDIA, Apple distributors and resellers like Unicorn and Ample, Institutes from across India, Studios like Paprikaas, BIG Animation and Lucas Film Singapore who had come looking to hire new talent, Animation-related media companies like Animation Xpress, Animation Reporter, Animation Today and of course yours truly representing AAA, Zapak Games play-zone for gaming enthusiasts, Master Classes, student competitions, everything under one roof. TASI - The Animation Society of India also made its presence felt at the expo, announcing this year’s edition of the 3 day animation fest - Anifest India 2008! It was a place to learn, earn, network, have fun, share, make noise and lose your voice with all the talking!

Some more fun stuff!

Education Pavilion

Studios looking to hire fresh as well as experienced talent.

A huge Gaming Plaza by Zapak - every gamers dream…

Keep playing!

Kreeda Games’ Dance Mela and M M Mukhi & Sons’ Book and CD/DVD stall.

…and that’s Yours Truly at the AllAboutAnimation stall. A BIG THANK YOU to all the visitors and the readers who came specially and told me how much they like the website/blog. Feels great to know that one’s hard work is appreciated.

I sincerely hope that CGTantra keeps organizing more such fests in other cities as well. Kudos to their team!

http://www.cgtexpo.com/masterclasses.html

See the details of the sessions and speakers.

Suresh Kalmadi, MP and Chairman of Pune Vyaspeeth announced at a press conference on Saturday, 17th May that the 5th Hi Tech Pune-Maharashtra 2008 conference, a 3-day event which has so far focussed on IT (Information Technology) and BT (Biotechnology) would this year include Animation and Gaming as well.

“Innovation Led Inclusive Growth” is what they are calling the conference but what exactly will be discussed with regards to the animation industry and who will speak is not certain. They have mentioned an Animation & Gaming Committee though, comprised of:

Commodore Anand Khandekar (Director Pune Development Center and Chief Mentor NVIDIA)

Ravi Gupta (Executive Director, Whistling Woods International)

Aashish Kulkarni (CEO, Anirights)

Sunanda Rathi (Director Arena Animation, Pune)

Dr. Ajay Batra (Author: “Breeding Innovation and Intellectual Capital” and “Integrated Innovation, Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital Framework”)

The website does not offer much information either and the only topic mentioned in the list is one that has already been done to death, - “Opportunities & Challenges of Gaming & Animation Industry.” One wishes that they would find fresh topics to discuss at such prestigious events rather than have the same people rehash the same “issues” over and over again.