Hyderabad can become torchbearer of India’s animation industry, say industry bigwigs

Hyderabad: Telangana, and Hyderabad in particular, has the potential to become the torchbearer of India's growing animation industry, said Rajiv Chilaka, founder of Green Gold Animation, the studio behind the popular Chhota Bheem series.He was speaking on the sidelines of the eighth edition of Desi Toons, held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) on Saturday. The conclave drew cartoon and animation enthusiasts from across the city and featured keynote speeches by leading figures from the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sectors."Hyderabad is one of the leading cities in the country when it comes to animation production studios. We also have an incredibly talented workforce, thanks to the thriving IT industry, which ensures that individuals are technically skilled and up to date with the latest technologies," Chilaka said.Discussions at the conclave focused on the opportunities, challenges, and future pathways of India's creative economy. According to panelists, sparking greater audience interest remains the biggest challenge."The reason countries like Japan have been so successful with anime and manga is because they follow an organised approach that focuses not just on creating quality content but also on promoting it effectively. In India, while we produce good content, we still have work to do on the marketing front. Moreover, not enough producers are investing in animated content, and adult audiences still tend to see it as a kids' genre," said Arjun Madhavan, CEO of Assemblage.The event also featured discussions on the success of recent Indian-made animated films Kalki and Mahavatar Narasimha, with the directors sharing their insights."The challenge ahead isn't talent. It's translating that talent into global-quality projects. Desi Toons gives us the space and confidence to do that," said Kalki director Nag Ashwin.Adding perspective on the evolving animation landscape, Mahavatar Narasimha director Ashwin Kumar said, "The industry is maturing, technology is accelerating, and audiences are ready for stories from India that speak to the world. Desi Toons has brought together artists, producers, policymakers, and educators, which is exactly the kind of convergence that turns an industry into a movement."Panelists also discussed artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on original content creation. While they acknowledged that AI could displace some jobs, they maintained that it would not take over the industry."We are reaching a stage of AI fatigue where consumers can tell the difference between AI-generated and original content. Audiences are drawn to authenticity and creativity, not generic AI output," said Munjal Shroff, Director and COO of Graphiti Multimedia.The conclave also unveiled the Desi Toons Animation Pitch — a first-of-its-kind platform that will allow Indian animation studios to present their original intellectual properties (IPs) directly to broadcasters, OTT platforms, and investors.