Hindi
Animation films best for transcending barriers, prejudices
MUMBAI: The technique of animation is one of the best mediums of films for social communication in that it is non-confrontational, transcends cultural, borders or language barriers, and appeals to audiences of all ages.
While one cannot avoid showing violence in animation or other films since this is a part of society today, it should be done without glorifying it to the extent that people – particularly children – become insensitive to streaks of violence.
This was the general consensus of an open forum organised by the Indian Documentary Producers Association (IDPA) on “Animation and Social Communication” presided over by renowned animation filmmaker Ram Mohan.
Noting that the animation industry in India has grown into a multi-million dollar enterprise, Mohan said that animation had first become institutionalised in the country when the Films Division set up an animation studio in the 1950s with the clear aim of using it as a vehicle for social messages as the medium has an inherent quality that makes it ideal of this purpose. He also rued that there was a dearth of talented people in animation though there was no shortage of ideas.
Answering a question, he said it is not fair to use animation films as a baby-sitter if the parent or adult is busy with other work, since the child watching such films may not be able to get the right kind of message. It is necessary for an adult to be present to interpret the film when young children are watching it.
Referring to the violence in animation serials, he said one cannot avoid violence which is a part of society, but it can be ensured that there is no glorification. Furthermore, while every story has to have a hero and a villain, it is necessary to see what they are fighting for. He said that the private television channels clearly go in for what is the cheapest available programme without being choosy.
He referred to series like Sesame Street which are devoid of violence and have proved popular in the west, but failed in the Indian version Gali Gali Sim Sim.
Reeves Lehmann, Chief of Films at the School of Visual Arts in the United States, agreed and added that The Simpsons proved very popular and full of important social messages though it does not have any violence. Even Disney is now into making films that do not have unnecessary violence. But he agreed that the TV animation series and the animation games are full of violence.
He admitted that the animation series had originally commenced in the US only as publicity for various toys like He-Man, Superman, Spiderman, Batman and so on.
Though there had been some problem two decades earlier to get people interested in animation, this is not the case at present. He stressed that animation is a universal format which got resurgence in the late eighties when some studios in the US decided to make full-length feature films beginning with a film called Mermaid. More people had then entered this field to learn the art.
Though it is often thought that with the coming of computers, traditional animation has become outdated, this is not so since that kind of animation is still more popular than computerised filming. In fact, many filmmakers prefer to combine different forms of animation in the same film, he added.
He agreed with Mohan that there is a shortage of good story writers for animation films.
Several persons including filmmakers and mediapersons who spoke complained about the violence in TV series and also lamented the fact that institutions like the Films Division had reduced the number of animation films made every year. Many also said that the channels including Doordarshan are driven by commercial considerations, and therefore, only show what they feel would prove popular.
Hindi
Jio Studios unveils AI-powered Krishna teaser at NAB Show 2026
Global first look of Krishna uses Galleri5 AI pipeline on Azure, Historyverse slate as Jio’s Dhurandhar crosses Rs 3,000cr worldwide.
MUMBAI: Krishna has just dropped a divine teaser and this time the gods are powered by silicon, not just scripture. Jio Studios and Collective Studios’ Historyverse stole the spotlight at the NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas with the world’s first teaser for their upcoming theatrical feature Krishna, directed by Manu Anand. The big reveal happened during Microsoft’s keynote “Powering Intelligent Media, From AI Experimentation to Real-World Impact,” where the film’s AI-native production pipeline took centre stage alongside Collective Artists Network’s in-house platform, Galleri5.
At the heart of this mythological spectacle lies a fresh cinematic workflow built by Galleri5 on Microsoft Azure’s advanced AI and cloud infrastructure. Forget bolting AI onto traditional VFX or animation, this is an end-to-end, production-grade system woven into every layer: world-building, character creation, shot design and final output. Yet the storytelling remains firmly director-led, emphasising emotional depth, stillness, music and performance rather than pure spectacle. The result? Large-format theatrical cinema rooted in Indian history and culture, but conceived in ways that were simply not possible before.
Collective Artists Network runs Galleri5 natively on Azure, leveraging Microsoft Foundry and cutting-edge AI tools to handle film, episodic and advertising workflows in a secure enterprise environment. Microsoft highlighted Collective as a “Frontier” organisation successfully moving AI from pilot projects to real production-scale deployment in cinema. The technology is also on display at Microsoft’s NAB booth in the West Hall (Booth W1731).
Jio Studios (Media & Content Business, Reliance Industries), president Jyoti Deshpande said the project advances the studio’s mission to take Indian stories global with scale, ambition and authenticity, “With Krishna, we are embracing cutting-edge AI-led filmmaking while democratising these tools to make them more accessible, intuitive and cost-effective for storytellers everywhere.”
Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam added, “We’re using technology developed in India to carry our culture and history to audiences worldwide at a scale never seen before.”
Microsoft, vice president for telco media & entertainment, gaming Silvia Candiani noted that the media industry has reached an inflection point, “AI is no longer about experimentation but delivering real impact at production scale… By building AI-native creative systems on Microsoft Azure, Collective exemplifies how storytellers can unlock new formats, move faster and realise a true return on intelligence while keeping human creativity at the centre.”
Krishna forms part of Historyverse, Collective Studios’ ambitious slate of history and culture-driven IPs. The slate draws from iconic figures and traditions that shaped the Indian subcontinent, including stories inspired by Kali, Karna and Durga. It builds on the already-released Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh series, showing how ancient narratives can be reimagined for modern screens.
Jio Studios, India’s leading content studio and the media and content arm of Reliance Industries, continues its blockbuster run. The studio’s Dhurandhar franchise led by Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become the first Indian film series to cross Rs 3,000 crore worldwide. It also delivered three consecutive years of India’s highest-grossing Hindi films: Stree 2 (2024), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). In just eight years, Jio Studios has assembled a library of over 160 films and series, with more than 60 titles winning over 500 awards. Other notable successes include Laapataa Ladies (India’s official Oscar entry 2025), Stree, Article 370, Shaitaan and Mrs.
The NAB unveiling marks another step in Jio Studios and Collective’s push to blend Indian storytelling talent with frontier technology proving that the future of cinema may well be both ancient in spirit and thoroughly modern in execution. For audiences who love epic tales with a fresh twist, Krishna promises to deliver divine drama, this time with a little help from the cloud.
