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22nd DigiCon6 Asia awards: India’s Neeraja Raj bags Asia silver
MUMBAI: At the 22nd DigiCon6 Asia Awards, which recognises and rewards talented creators throughout the region, India’s Neeraja Raj bagged Asia silver for her submission – Meow or Never – in the category of best animated technique.
Meow or Never is a nine-minute-long animated comedy short. It tells the story in a madcap musical, where a catstronaut travels the galaxy looking for the meaning of life, but when she encounters a space pup eager to help, it only gets them into trouble at every turn.
AnimationXpress is the India partner of Digicon. Ecstatic about Raj’s achievement, Indiantelevision.com group founder, CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari said, “We, at AnimationXpress.com which is part of the Indiantelevision.com group and is the Indian partner of Digicon, are delighted that 26-year-old Neeraja Raj's Meow or Never got awarded a silver for best technique. She is a young emerging talent who managed to best many other Asian professionals who are very much senior to her."
Sponsored by Japan’s TBS broadcast network, the awards ceremony was held on Saturday, 28 November at the Marunouchi Building Hall in Tokyo. With this year’s new participants, Laos and Mongolia, the number of members has increased to 16. Due to the Covid2019 outbreak, this year the regional award winners participated online and the award ceremony was broadcast live. The awarded trophies were drawn in CG and broadcasts made from six points in Asia. Care in the production was taken to make the event enjoyable for all the Asian participants. Hong Kong's work Dragon's Delusion: Preface by Kong Kee (43) was selected for the top grand prize from among the works of the 16 regions.
Dragon's Delusion: Preface is an animated work that depicts the world where cyborgs and androids coexist with humans, as the ambitious Qin Shi Huang works on the development of secret technologies that enable immortality by combining humans and machines.
The DigiCon6 Asia awards encourages outstanding content creators and promotes mutual understanding. The film contest has been held annually by TBS since 2000 for this purpose. It is open to both professionals and amateurs of all ages. There are no restrictions as long as the films are works within 15 minutes. Winners are chosen after a strict screening. In 2006 the festival was expanded to include other areas in Asia. This yearʼs participants are Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Japan. Creators from DigiCon6 are active in various content production sites throughout Asia.
Here is the 22nd DigiCon6 ASIA Awards winners list :-
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Subedaar puts Indian original cinema on the global map with record-breaking Prime Video debut
MUMBAI: Prime Video has a runaway hit on its hands. Subedaar, the gritty action drama starring Anil Kapoor, has stormed to become the most-watched Indian original movie on the platform in its opening weekend, cracking the Top 10 across 31 countries and landing in 91 per cent of India’s pin codes within days of its March 5 premiere.
The film, a visceral, emotionally-charged story of a retired soldier, Subedaar Arjun Maurya, wrestling with civilian life amid crime and corruption, has struck a nerve. Directed by Suresh Triveni and co-starring Radhikka Madan, Mona Singh, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Rawal, Faisal Malik, and Khushboo Sundar, the film is already being hailed as a showcase for what Indian original storytelling can achieve on the world stage.
“Subedaar’s success is a reflection of the growing scale and global resonance of Indian storytelling,” said Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India. “The film’s emotional narrative, its rooted portrayal of a soldier confronting his toughest battles beyond the battlefield, has struck a chord. Anil Kapoor delivers an acting masterclass, while Suresh Triveni’s solid direction and great performances from the ensemble cast have resulted in love and appreciation from customers across the world.”
Kapoor, 62, has been here before, but rarely at this altitude. Written by Triveni and Prajwal Chandrashekar, with dialogues by Triveni, Saurabh Dwivedi, and Chandrashekar, the film is a production by Opening Image Films in association with Anil Kapoor Film & Communication Network (AKFCN), produced by Vikram Malhotra, Kapoor, and Triveni.
Subedaar streams exclusively on Prime Video in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu across India, and in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
For Prime Video, the numbers tell the real story: one weekend, one film, a global footprint, and a very loud signal that Indian original cinema is no longer just travelling well. It’s arriving.
