Asifa India reconstitutes core committee for 2025

Asifa India — the nation’s leading non-profit organisation promoting the art, craft, and profession of animation, VFX, and gaming — marks a historic milestone this year. Established in 2000, the organisation is celebrating 25 years of community-building this November, coinciding with Asifa International’s 65th anniversary.

Celebrating 25 years of global growth

Asifa India recently concluded entries for its 25th Annual Asifa India Awards of Excellence, reviewed by a distinguished international jury featuring Pradipto Sengupta (DreamWorks, USA), Cinzia Angelene (USA), Srinivas Bhakta (Singapore), Mehul Hirani (Mumbai), and Pradeep Kumar (Pune).

During 2024–25, the organisation partnered with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, for the Waves – Create in India Challenge (Phase 1), which drew an overwhelming global response.

Knowledge sessions at Waves and IndiaJoy featured prominent international experts including Briana Yarhouse and Pramita Mukherjee, reinforcing India’s growing leadership in the global AVGC–XR ecosystem.

A silver jubilee year of nationwide celebrations

To commemorate its silver jubilee, the organisation has launched a nationwide series of International Animation Day (IAD) 2025 celebrations across more than 15 cities. The flagship event will be held on 27 October 2025 at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad, featuring top industry experts, followed by satellite events in Chennai, Bhopal, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Indore, and other key cities.

Each IAD festival stop will include masterclasses, case studies, behind-the-scenes sessions, and skill-based workshops spanning traditional and digital animation. As part of its inclusive approach, Women-in-Media mixers will be hosted in each city to promote gender equity and creative collaboration. All IAD sessions remain free and open to the public.

The awards will take place during IndiaJoy Festival on 1-2 November, featuring five major categories and 51 subcategories.

Reconstituted core committee (2025–28)

To strengthen outreach and engagement across India, the organisation has announced its restructured leadership team with diverse regional representation:

Core committee

President: Sanjay Khimesara (Indore)
Vice president – operations & outreach: Vinita Bachani (Pune)
Vice president – programming & PR: Rajasekhar Buggaveeti (Hyderabad)
Secretary-general: Dr. Ankit Jain (Pune)
Treasurer: Vinod Ramakrishnan (Hyderabad)
Technical director: Siva Kumar Kasetty (Bengaluru)
Festival directors – Awards of Excellence: Vineet R. Kapoor (Chandigarh), Kalpesh Keradia (Mumbai)
Vice president – membership, sponsorship & expansion: Harshita Sharma (Kolkata)
Associate vice president – membership & expansion: Pamil Arora (Mohali)

Regional heads

North – Nitesh Jawarani (Gurgaon)
East – Ramesh Ruia (Kolkata)
South – Dr. Indira Gupta (Bengaluru)
West – Devashree Vora (Mumbai)
Central – Anuj Singh (Indore)

Special portfolios

Women in Media – Vinita Bachani (Pune)
Workshops & masterclasses – Madhavi Pagaria (Nashik)
Global partnerships – Jayanti Mahapatra (Mumbai)
Membership & sponsorship – Dr. Ankit Jain (Pune)
Finance – Vinod R. (Hyderabad)
International relations – Sanjay Khimesara (Indore)

National Advisory Board

AR Sesha Prasad – head of studio, Dneg India
Dr. Anastasia Dimitra – president, Asifa International (Greece)
Prateek Sethi – Animators Guild of India
B.N. Vichar – art director, Technicolor Games
Dhimant Vyas – professor of practice, IDC School of Design, Mumbai
Pramita Mukherjee – creative artist, DreamWorks (USA)
Pradipto Mukherjee – supervisor, DreamWorks (USA)