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Indian answer to Lion King?

`Hanuman' showed the way and more animation films are to follow

By the end of June, Hollywood's much-awaited movie Superman Returns and Krrish (sequel to Koi Mil Gaya), starring Hrithik Roshan, will lock horns at the box office. With special effects and graphics thrown in for good measure, these biggies will be doing whatever it takes to grab the eyeballs. A slew of animation films are in the offing both regionally and nationally, after the success of Hanuman, produced with a moderate budget of Rs. 3 crore.

An improved version

Animation expert and filmmaker V.G.Samant, who directed Hanuman, is ecstatic. "A section of the film industry thought that mythological themes might not go down well with children who are used to Harry Potter. All that's changed now. "

Samant's team is now developing the storyboard for Hanuman2 to be ready by October 2007," he adds. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Production houses like Adlabs, Sahara One Motion Pictures and UTV are also jumping into the fray.

Apart from these animation flicks, Hyderabad-based Rayudu Vision Media is working on Luva Kusa. Says Rudra Matsa, project in-charge for this film, "Animation firms in India are no longer considered as sweatshops for international projects. Plus, we have an edge while dealing with Indian mythological theme. While countries like Japan are doing a wonderful job with science fiction, we are taking a leaf from the past." This is not all. Production houses are known to lap up successful trends and we might see more animation films. Apart from full-fledged films, there are others who have one or two animated characters in a regular commercial film. Example: Friends Forever, a movie that stars Ashmit Patel, has a 3D animation character called Zampano!

SANGEETHA DEVI K.

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