Animation has grown a lot over the years and is a never-ending field. Nowadays, there is a huge scope for animation. India is a rich country when it comes to art, cultures, and festivals and animation is considered as the most modern art form across the globe.
Indian animation industry has evolved drastically since 1941 (when Dadasaheb Phalke made first stop-motion animation movie). There are a lot of animation video production companies today who use the advanced technology and create believable and beautiful animated products. You might have seen many animation movies on screen but, have you ever seen behind the scenes of an animated movie? If not, you definitely should because behind the scene moments will let you know how much efforts and skills are put in to create the whole movie.
Animation movies might not have any real-life characters but, the number of the people who are involved in the filmmaking is more than those needed for a feature film. The one important factor that you need for an animation movie is ‘Latest Technology’. The latest technology will help in developing the characters and stories from simple sketches.
Are you fascinated about by the tales of superheroes and superwoman flying and saving the world from destruction? Have you ever dreamt of becoming one of them? Did you ever doodle these character on your notebooks? Do you want to excel in the field of animation? Are you in search of inspiration for becoming an animator?
If your answer to all the above questions is yes, we have a list of animators from our country, India, who have shaped the modern Indian Animation Industry.
Let us have a look at the list
Ram Mohan
Ram Mohan is popularly known as the ‘Godfather of Indian animation’. He started his career in 1956 at the Cartoon Films Unit of Films Division of India. He is credited to have one of the earliest exponents of animation content in India when the animation market was in its beginning stage. He is the Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of a Mumbai based animation company named as ‘Graphiti Multimedia’. In 2006, he also established an animation school named as ‘Graphiti School of Animation’. His noticeable contribution to the Indian television includes animated short film ‘Baap re Baap’, ‘Ramayana-the legend of Prince Rama‘ and the animated TV series- ‘Meena‘. He had won National Film Award twice in the category of Best Non-Feature Animation Film for the films, ‘You Said It’ and ‘Fire Games’. In 2014, he was also awarded Padma Shri.
Dr. Rajiv Chilaka
Rajiv Chilaka is also known as Rajiv Chilakalapudi and Sitarama Rajiv Chilakalapudi. He studied animation from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Now, he is the founder and CEO of a Hyderabad-based company, named as ‘Green Gold Animation’. He is known for his popular cartoon TV shows like the ‘Krishna Series’ and ‘Chhota Bheem’. In 2003, his first break came with the animation series named ‘Bongo’, which is about an alien who lands on Earth. In 2004, Bongo, lead to the creation of ‘Vikram Betal’, an 80-minute 2D animation on the Cartoon Network. His first feature film named ‘Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan’ was released in 2012 followed by the next film named ‘Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure’, in January 2016.
Bhimsain Khurana
Bhimsain Khurana is considered as India’s animation pioneer and an innovative filmmaker. He learned the art and craft of animation film-making at the monolith Films Division where he started his career as a background-painter. He was awarded the prestigious ‘Silver Hugo award’ at the Chicago Film Festival for his first animation short film ‘The Climb’. After the success of Climb, he started his own company and named it as ‘Climb Films’ (Now, known as ‘Climb Media’). In 1947, he came up with India’s most popular animation short film, ‘Ek Anek Ekta’. He has been awarded National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Animation Film, National Film Award for Best Promotional Film, National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Non-Feature Film) and lifetime contribution awards by leading institutes and organizations.
Kireet Khurana
Kireet Khurana is the son of ‘Bhimsain Khurana’. Along with being an animator, he is also an Indian filmmaker, storyteller and Ad film director. He is the creative head of a company named as ‘2nz Animation Co.’ He directed ‘Toonpur Ka Super Hero’, India’s first film combining live-action and 3D animation starring Ajay Devgan and Kajol. ‘Detective Naani’ and ‘Adventures of Chhota Birbal’ are his other noticeable animation projects. This multi-talented animator has produced many award-winning public service campaigns. In 2014, his movie ‘Komal’ a film on child sexual abuse, won the FICCI Best Animated Frames (BAF) Award. In 2013, ‘Sisters’, a film on child marriage, won the Best Public Service and Social Film awards at the INFOCOM-ASSOCHAM EME Awards.
Ishu Patel
Ishu Patel, an animation film director, producer, and educator developed animation techniques and styles during his twenty-five years at the National Film Board of Canada. He adapted the Norman McLaren technique of multiple passes and variable exposures in his film ‘Perspectrum’ (1974). Later, for his movie ‘Paradise’ he developed the under-lit pinhole technique with multiple passes. He has been awarded BAFTA Award for Best Short Film and had also been nominated for Academy Award for Best Short Film, Genie Award for Outstanding Theatrical Short, and Genie Award for Best Animated Short. His films were also part of two Oscar nominations.
These animators had totally changed the map of Indian Animation Industry and set a bar for the newcomers. They have made our Nation, India proud with their work and achievements. If you wish to do so, learn and understand animation, work hard and focus. If you know have any animation related facts do share with us in the comment section below.