Animation
Mayabious to inaugurate 6-7 centres, double headcount in 2014
KOLKATA: With animation-related jobs increasingly outsourced to India, home-grown animation companies are looking to enhance their skills and manpower to meet the growing demand.
One such is Kolkata-based Mayabious Art, an animation, graphic applications and IT software skills company, which plans to inaugurate six to seven centres of the Mayabious Digital Academy apart from doubling its headcount this year.
“The strategy is to become an identity that would be recalled as the best project visualiser in the industry. We plan to come up with six to seven centres pan India,” says Mayabious Art CEO Akhil Bandhu Paul. “We believe that the Indian animation industry is set to clock stunning growth in times to come. Animation encompasses gaming, web designing, creative content, television commercials, games for internet, personal computer and consoles, has a strong need, and wide reach across sectors.”
To produce world-class animation, talent is a prerequisite. Hence, immediate attention needs to be given to creating and developing exceptional animation workers. According to Paul, the Mayabious Digital Academy helps them create their own manpower. “We are a Kolkata-based company with branches in Delhi and Bengaluru. Kolkata has a trend of talented and skilled manpower in the field of art. We have harnessed this talent to train them and cater to the needs of the entire world,” he says. “We at Mayabious Art have explored the opportunities, size and the factors that make the Indian animation market one of the most sought after arenas,” Paul adds about the growth prospects of the industry.
Meanwhile, a media professional quotes a Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ report which says that the animation industry, estimated to be worth nearly Rs 1,100 crore back in 2006, is expected to grow at the rate of 22 per cent to reach Rs 5,400 crore by the end of this year. “At Mayabious Art, we are all geared up to meet the challenges and create and develop world-class professionals and results,” signs off Paul.
MUMBAI: History is getting a fresh rewrite this time with code, creativity and a longer arc in mind. Lens Vault Studios has announced its first original production, Bal Tanhaji, marking the official entry of the newly launched, tech-driven studio into India’s evolving entertainment landscape.
Arriving six years after the box-office success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the new project expands the universe rather than revisiting familiar ground. Bal Tanhaji explores uncharted narrative territory, signalling a clear shift from one-off cinematic spectacles to long-format, world-building storytelling designed for digital-first audiences.
At the heart of this ambition is Prismix Studios, the in-house generative AI and technology arm powering the creative engine behind the show. The studio’s approach blends storytelling with next-generation tools, aiming to reimagine how Indian IPs are created, scaled and sustained beyond theatrical releases.
For Lens Vault Studios chairman Ajay Devgn the new venture represents a deliberate step beyond traditional cinema. The focus is firmly on building long-form intellectual properties across fiction and non-fiction, tailored to changing viewing habits and platform-led consumption. He said the studio intends to explore formats that remain largely untapped, while drawing on the team’s experience with large-scale cinematic storytelling.
Lens Vault Studios founder and CEO Danish Devgn echoed that sentiment, describing Bal Tanhaji as the studio’s first generative-AI-led IP and the starting point of a broader vision. The aim, he noted, is to carry forward the legacy of the Tanhaji universe while connecting with younger audiences through a blend of powerful narratives and emerging technologies.
With Bal Tanhaji, Lens Vault Studios is planting its flag early not just launching a show, but signalling a larger play for cinematic universes that live, grow and evolve across platforms. If this debut is any indication, the future of Indian storytelling may be as much about imagination as it is about innovation.
