Kahani World Inc. in Canada and Accel Animation Studios in India have packed to produce three motion pictures and 11 direct-to-DVDs, which the parties hope to spin off into further opportunities in TV, mobile, new media & web formats. One of the largest motion picture deals in Indian animation, the parties toasted the deal at MIFA last month during Annecy, to mark the first international market where Indian animation companies had come together to present India's capabilities and accomplishments on the world stage.
Following a three-year development at Kahani World, the first DVD, RAJU THE AUTO RICKSHAW, will be ready for distribution by the third quarter of 2007. RAJU THE AUTO RICKSHAW features seven episodes for the pre-school audience. There are plans for eight DVDs of seven episodes each in order to create a 52-episode TV series and four TV movies/specials.
Kahani World created the stories as part of its mission develop global themes with an Asian flavor. Kahani World ceo/president Biren Ghose said, "The next wave in global animation is to see themes that will be iconic in Asia, but will also have a resonance in global markets. This has already happened in food, fashion & styles -- ethnic themes have suddenly become mainstream. Kahani would like to work with its co-producers and creative partners to innovate a global acceptance for this genre."
This multi-program commitment fits with the ACCEL Animation Studios quest to make it a leader on an international scale as an animation content producer and development service studio. "Indian industry is currently mainly in the broadcast animation business and we believe that the next stage of scale up is the feature film paradigm," said N.R. Pannicker, chairman of ACCEL. "Hence, we shall be the first to invest in a state of the art realtime 3D motion-capture studio. This facility will enable a pace and quality of production hitherto unseen in the Indian industry. We shall set up dedicated pipelines for partners like Kahani World adjacent to this facility."
NASSCOM (National Assoc. of Software & Service Compoanies, www.nasscom.in) recently reported that the Indian industry between 2006 and 2010 should grow from $354 million to $869 million for animation across all sectors. Movies have a higher growth rate than this overall figure and shall be a key segment in this mix.
"Output from our development slate has already been well received at the KIDSCREEN summit in New York and MIP-TV at Cannes both in 2007," added Ghose. "The decision to leapfrog to movies is a market driven initiative from our presence at such markets. It is obvious that as we see a flattening of social and geographical distinctions, we therefore see the rise of a new paradigm of content where traditional stories need to be repackaged and retold with a contemporary 'technology' look, feel and language!"
ACCEL Animation Studios is a part of the ACCEL group, a leading provider of IT solutions with global delivery capabilities. ACCEL Animation (www.acccelanimation.com) has state of the art capabilities, infrastructure and a team of experienced professionals, plus a mixture of business models comprising IP development, outsourcing, co-productions & training.
Kahani (www.kahaniworld.com), which literally means the story, is a developer/producer of animation properties in Toronto KAHANI seeks to tell the stories from the East to the western world. This IP-driven agenda is Kahani's key to building value and scale in the kids brand business. The company provides a platform for independent creators, directors, writers, etc., who collaborate on a variety of animation themes. Kahani World brands are produced and sold across a network of partnerships, which include studios, distributors, toy companies, licensing & merchandising companies, publishers, broadcasters.
