Animation,
gaming and VFX are among the latest and hottest inclusions to India's ever-growing
entertainment and media industry. These sectors have witnessed unprecedented growth-rates
in recent times. A NASSCOM Research report states that Indian animation industry
revenues were estimated at USD354 million in 2006, a growth of 24 per cent over
the previous year. The industry is expected to reach USD869 million by 2010, representing
a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent over 2006-2010. The gaming
industry in India was pegged at nearly USD48 million, in 2006, and is expected
to cross USD424 million by 2010, representing a CAGR of 72 per cent. According
to the 2007 FICCI-PWC joint report, the entertainment portion of the animation,
VFX and gaming industries grew by around 24 per cent over 2006-07. The animation
industry in 2007 was estimated at more than Rs13 billion, up from that of Rs10.5
billion in 2006 while gaming shot up to Rs2.7 billion from Rs2.5 billion, in the
same period. The growth in mobile phone users has led mobile gaming alone to occupy
71 per cent of the gaming industry. Online gaming is also rapidly expanding with
time, by the courtesy of the growth in internet users. It is worth mentioning
that very few categories under the entertainment and media industries have witnessed
such a skyrocketing growth rates. With international
media conglomerates such as Walt Disney eyeing for a chunk of success in the Indian
film industry through animation, and Bollywood gradually realizing the potential
of animation, hopes for higher return of investments in the animation sector have
stupendously heightened. Increasingly, thus, original animation content is coming
forth at its own pace to make its place besides animation outsourcing. In fact,
according to some surveys, animated intellectual property (IP) is estimated to
hold three-fourth of the Indian animation market in the near future. Does this
imply the ascension of IPs over outsourcing?  |
AK
Madhavan, CEO of Crest Animation Studios, does not believe that animation outsourcing
has really taken a backseat. He is rather not confident about the future of animated
IPs. According to him, "creating a few movies based on mythology contributes
little to the vast field of animated IP". But then, the scenario has gradually
started changing with Roadside Romeo hitting the market. The movie has
reshaped the form in which animation initially emerged in the entertainment sector
and is being well received. Ashish
Kulkarni, CEO of Big Animation, firmly believes that outsourcing and IP can go
together to brighten the prospects of the entire animation industry in India.
He does not agree that outsourcing will prove to be less lucrative than it was
earlier, especially given the recent rise of dollar against the rupee. Pankaj
Khandpur, Creative Director of Tata Elxsi VCL, agrees, "The dollar is up
and it is certainly helping the outsourcing industry in India." Khandpur
is of the view that animation outsourcing will do well, as for long it has provided
the industry with the required "stability". Rahul
Bakshi, CEO of Phoebus Media, says that though both animation outsourcing and
IP go hand in hand, IP is nevertheless a very important part which holds opportunities
for enormous prosperity in the Indian animation industry. Bakshi emphasizes, "Budget
is a huge constraint sometimes, even for a movie with good scriptwriting and storytelling."
Madhavan adds, "There is no dearth of talent in India to create quality animated
IPs. Budget is still the biggest constraint in producing animated IPs." Public
consumption of animation is another very important and timely issue that was raised
by Bakshi. Even though some animated IPs have tasted success in India, Bakshi
believes that they are indeed few in number, and a lot needs to be done to create
an impression among the masses. Movies such as Hanuman and Roadside
Romeo can be said to have started the process of popularizing animation flicks.
Roadside Romeo has, in fact, been the first Indian animated movie to really
have hit the road, breaking all existing barriers and opening the door wide to
a broad spectrum of audiences. Commenting on the nature of the film, Yash Chopra
of Yash Raj Films said, "The film is completely Indian in appeal and as such
will be a regular length movie with dance, drama, romance, emotion and elaborate
music track with five-six songs." There is thus no doubt that animated IPs
can yield more, given adequate efforts. But,
outsourcing will run at its own pace. It might have fallen behind animated IP
creation at the moment, but is steadily doing its own course. Animation outsourcing
in India succeed as India has always had what it takes to succeed in this field,
a tech savvy, creative work-force, and the ability to produce quality work at
competitive prices. Issues like high costs and improper time management have taken
a tool vis-à-vis competitors like China, Philippines, and Taiwan. But these
are issues that have every scope to be properly dealt with, and then, these issues
can never mean an end to animated outsourcing in India.
Ronald D'mello, Managing Director
and CEO of Maya Entertainment Limited, opines, "We have
not, as yet, witnessed any downward trend in outsourcing in
our company. Neither do I believe animation outsourcing will
lose its place. In fact, there is an increased competition
in outsourcing." On the contrary, while IP has all the
prosperities, it still has a long way to go to prove itself
successful. The stability that animation outsourcing has given
to the industry is not to be shaken so easily.
Therefore, IP will rock, but outsourcing will kick too!
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