Animation
Animation companies upbeat on West Bengal
KOLKATA: The Indian animation and gaming industry in India is worth around $2,477 million with a growth rate of 35 per cent (2009-2013). West Bengal, which showed the least amount of growth some years ago with outsourcing as the main nature of work, is now attracting companies to set up their base here.
The industry has potential for growth, both in terms of size and moving up the value chain, reveals a report on animation, broadcasting and gaming by Deloitte.
Seeing good opportunities, players like Big Animation (an Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company), Arena Animation, NiDT and the Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA) have set their sights on Kolkata.
According to NiDT director Chaitali Ghosh, the animation visual gaming sector, offering an opportunity never realized earlier, is now catching up in Kolkata.
An expert said creativity from West Bengal is overflowing and a trinity should be created among government, industry and academia for the growth of the industry in eastern region.
Webel DQE Animation Academy has placed more than 1100 students in various firms and is working on the animated version of Jungle Book apart from French and German movies. A production facility in Kolkata is also on the charts.
ZICA director Shrey Agarwal informs that the company’s in-house studio in New Alipore is in the pipeline. Additionally, Arena Animation director Ramesh Kumar Ruia says that they has started a graduation course on animation.
Quoting Economic Survey 2014-15, an expert opined that Kolkata as a creative hub looked promising on the chart. “Seeing that digital advertising and gaming verticals are expected to drive growth on Indian media and entertainment industry in the next few years, West Bengal is likely to play a key role, firstly being a creative center of artists and secondly an important state in the eastern region. India is also emerging as the new favourite of international studios, with 100 per cent FDI permitted in the film sector,” he said.
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.
