Mehta: Spins Mayajaal

New Delhi, July 5: Right now, filmmaker Ketan Mehta is shooting The Rising — the Aamir Khan starrer — touted as one of the costliest films ever made.

But Mehta, a well known film director, often takes time out from his busy movie schedule, to be part of an IT-savvy brigade busy developing India as an animation film-making hub for the world.

Mehta has big expansion plans for his animation and special effects company Maya Entertainment Limited (MEL).

Speaking to The Telegraph from Mumbai, CEO Rajesh Turakhia said, “Right now, animation work being outsourced from India is about Rs 800-1200 crore. The business is going to grow five times in a few years.”

MEL, which has recently bagged animation projects worth Rs 2.5 crore, has work to the tune of Rs 10-12 crore next year. The company is also on a massive recruitment spree.

“We are going to recruit 150 animators for different projects,” said Turakhia. Most of these will be sourced from its education wing — Advanced Multimedia Training Division, MAAC. The third wing of the company is into visual effects for television software and films. Incidentally, there will be a lot of special effects for the period film, The Rising.

Some of the prime projects on MEL’s plate include a BBC special for Christmas and special project for Nickelodeon. Right now, India has about 6000 animators, a number that Turakhia expects will swell to 50,000 in two years. Turakhia is gung ho about MEL. “Our turnover right now is only Rs 12 crore, but it will be double by next year. The industry is likely to grow at a five-fold pace, he said.

Animation is a costly proposition. It costs about Rs 4 lakh a minute — a reason why no single broadcaster can bear the costs and the business mainly runs on the syndication worldwide. Finished products are sold to distributors who in turn sell it to channels worldwide.

“India has some strong points going for it in the animation business, the prime two being computer friendliness and English language skills,” said Turakhia. Other media experts point out that the ‘sense of humour’ and ‘timing’ factors in Indian animations are very good.

The domestic animation industry is growing at a fast rate, at about 50 per cent per year, said industry experts — a growth which will increase with time. Shyam Ramanna’s Crest Communication in Mumbai is another prime player in the industry.

The money as an animation professional can be lucrative. However, professional animation courses do not come cheap. A one-year course costs over Rs 1 lakh.