Event Coverage
India The Entertainment Hub of the 21st Century
Hyderabad based Suresh Productions Pvt Ltd’s Ram Mohan spoke about the need for upgrades in technology and personnel in India in the entertainment industry. Other issues discussed by him were cost advantages for production in India as studios, labs and technicians were available at very competitive costs as compared to costs elsewhere in the world.
Levies and duties on equipment needed rationalisation and lowering, a more efficient legal structure needed to be put in place and higher wages to technicans, were some of the other issues which had to be handled to make more filmmakers from all over the world to come to India for production, mohan said.
Amitabh Kumar, director (Corporate) Zee TV, highlighted the fact that it was India that had the potential to become the uplinking hub for south East Asia if duties were reduced, and facilities like teleports and media cities were introduced.
India had only a $ 2.6 billion piece of the $ 500 billion worldwide pie in the entertainment Industry, Kumar said. From 1998 the I-T industry has left the media industry far behind in terms of growth, he said (not true this year anyway as according to the Arthur Anderson on the Indian entertainment industry released at Frames 2002, this year the growth of . India had eight major satellites offering 140 channels out of which more than 80 per cent was broadcast offshore and more than 90 per cent of the transponders were based abroad. In India the cost of broadcating was Rs 7 lakhs per channel while in Singapore the same could be done at only Rs 2.5 lakhs almost a 3:1 ratio difference. All the Indian broadcasters used foreign facilities, and if this was to be done in India art least Rs 6 million could be saved, besides which there would be an increased advertisement revenue as local advertising would increase, Kumar said.
The need of the hour for the Indian industry was an online ability to buy space on any satellite anywhere , even online brokering should be introduced, besides introducing Indian based uplinking facilities .
AK Mahadevan Sr V-P, Crest Communications Ltd, highlighted the advances made by India in animation. A number of foreign were turning to India to outsource their content due to the low production cost and high quality work done in India today. He proved his point by showing short clips of two animation series Ollie Under The Sea and Tales of Piggedly Winks produced by them for US-based Mike Young Productions.
Atul Kumar Rai, director (LC) DDA, spoke about the new media park being set up in Delhi. Spread over an area of 40 acres, the first round of tendering for allotments was just being undertaken, Rai said.
Ramesh Meer from FX factory spoke about the advances made by India in the field of creation of special effects. According to Meer, today a two-member team can visit a location abroad and all effects and actors can be superimposed, substantially lowering production costs.
Vinay Panda from D2C spoke about the potential of India to become a major entertainment center and the strategies required to achieve this target Some of the requirements as per him were introduction of teleports, fast speed internet, Fostering of enterprenuership and changes in lending institutions policies specially for investing in media.
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.
