How many animation studios does India have?
There are around 100 animation studios in India. And if one counts the small clusters of freelancers that directly take on jobs from the west then the number goes to 300.

What is the business model around which most Indian animation studios work?
Close to more than 75% of the Indian animation studios are work for hire studios catering to the large outsourcing market in the west.

What about the other 25%?
The other 25% includes the big studios that are doing work for hire as well as getting involved in international co-productions. Additionally there are the boutique shops which cater to the TVC market, some of the home video publishers that create their own content and a few daring studios that have conviction and are creating their own IP for broadcast in India and globally.

Didn't Indian animation have a bad rep in outsourcing earlier?
Thanks to the errors of a few Indian studios, the whole of Indian animation did have to struggle to rebuild its reputation. But things have changed now and quite a few of the
top-line studios have delivered consistently both in terms of quality and on time.

Looking into the future these studios that have been performing well, are set to become major players in the global scene.

That said, there still exist a few studios that could prove risky to work with and one hopes for sake of the Indian industry that these risky studios don't spoil it all again.

What are the strengths of Indian animation?
Speaking from an outsourcing / co-production perspective:
Indian studios are manned by people that understand western sensibilities and humor. The studios are slowly but surely evolving in terms of workflow and are building production pipelines that would help raise efficiency levels and improved consistent performance.

The inherent inclination towards technology, the co-operative and friendly attitude, the initiative, enterprise and enthusiasm to do good work are some other strong points of Indian animation.

What ails Indian animation?
The lack of unity, constant poaching and undercutting are serious issues that threaten to steal the winds from Indian animation's sails.

The need for trained talent is increasing every day and without a substantial human resource pool, the studios will not be able to achieve their ambitious goals.

To match their ambition levels, Indian animation studios need to join hands, lobby with the government and kick-start animation degree courses at the University level with some level of orientation beginning right from school.

What do International studios stand to gain if they work with Indian studios?
International studios can gain in terms of costs, in terms of great quality and a great working relationship.

How can international studios tap into the benefits that India holds for them?

By Investing.

India's massive population is one of the youngest in the world. There are large numbers of artistically inclined people who could be future animation artists only if animation were to be considered as a serious career option in India.

Studios abroad looking to partake the India benefit need not invest in technology infrastructure or in promoting the training institutes, that the Indian guys are taking more than good care of already. The only thing lacking is the quality of the course, the correct environment and the faculty that would impart the knowledge.

Studios could tie up with the training institutes and fly in experienced faculty from abroad who could share, teach and design new curriculums based on animation and film making fundamentals.

Also there are captive studio models where established international studios could invest in an Indian facility and within three years of careful nurturing of talent the Indian facility would prove to be a gold mine in terms of ROI by way of lowered production costs and creative input.

Yet another great ROI opportunity is in investing in original Indian IP. India has a lot to offer in terms of art, style, narrative and stories. The current environment within India makes it difficult for Indian studios to invest in IP, but International companies with global audience reach and evolved distribution and marketing pipelines can make gold by investing in original Indian IP. There are a great many boutique shops brimming with creative ideas waiting for the International biggies to realize this potential.

The future looks ....?
Promising. One only hopes that the players deliver on that promise.

What other opportunities exist in India?
Gaming, VFX, Illustration, Simulation and Visualization… all can be tapped into. Indian players have already become globally prominent when it comes to mobile gaming.

On the art front, India needs its own Annecy or Cartoons on the Bay to help encourage and foster art.

Is there something like an Indian animation style? Just the way Japan has Anime?
Surely there are many Indian animation styles that could overwhelm both the consumer & connoisseur universes, the only thing is that they haven't been discovered yet. But surely they exist in the beings of many an Indian animator who today labors on faithfully reproducing referenced art sheets from the west.

Is there a market for animation Licensing and Merchandising in India?
India is a price driven market and piracy is a big menace.

There is a market for L&M but it is a very small percentage of the vast potential. The fact that quite a few properties have done phenomenal numbers within this limited space is a positive indication and over time as the market expands the potential will be immense.

The emergence of organised retail is another interesting development and is rapidly helping in growing the market for L&M goods.

What is the scenario for animated content in Indian home entertainment?
The amount of Animated content in Indian home entertainment is growing. The hardware penetration is increasing rapidly and the software and content market is expanding in proportion.

Though much smaller than the broadcast market, there are more original animated content creators in this space as compared to broadcast. Thanks to its lower production costs flash is the favorite in this space. A lot of interesting folk based stories but none have been outstanding products in terms of production and finish, and have hardly generated any L&M activity.