Event Coverage
Celebrate Bollywood’s strengths: Mahesh Bhatt
Focus on the strengths of India’s film industry rather than aping the west.
That was the main theme of the session – The New Aesthetics of Popular Cinema – on the second and final day of Frames 2002.
Mahesh Bhatt chaired the session devoted to film making that included big names from showbiz including critically acclaimed director, Govind Nihalani, who presented a number of ideas, insights and inferences.
The afternoon saw the highly opinionated Bhatt lash out at Bollywood’s incessant fixation with lts Californian counterpart. The noted movie maker stressed that Bollywood needed to be proud of its Indian roots, including colourful song-dance routines and stop endorsing the West blindly.
Replying to an audience member’s query, Bhatt dismissed the Oscars as “just another marketing event” and asserted that the Indian film industry had enough power to take on the world. Though he added that Indian cinema was in its “infancy” and would really come of age when the movie making tools became easily available to creatively inclined youngsters with fresh ideas and scripts.
Nihalani echoed this sentiment, pointing out the evil of plagiarising from Hollywood and deeming it ridiculous. He urged that bettering script writing and getting newer story ideas was the need of the hour with Bhatt suggesting that Bollywood suffered from a lack of talent spotters rather than original talent.
He advised interested youngsters to think ‘reverse’ of our normal film financing formula, which raises about 75 per cent of the required monies from local markets and expects the other 25 per cent from the overseas markets, while planning to make an off beat movie. He further suggested that strong ideas be sold to venture capitalists for funding.
The session also examined other areas briefly. These included Jabbar Patel touching upon the dismal condition of Marathi cinema and Bhatt’s insights on cable TV and the menace of video piracy.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
