Bollywood goes high on animation

Here's a good news for kids. In the next two years, there will be as many as 10 animated films. Princy Jain reports.

Animation seems to have made its presence felt in tinsel town. After the success of

HT Image

Hanuman Returns

, Percept Picture Company (PPC) will present its third film, tentatively titled --

Ravana Returns

. And the list doesn't end there.

Yash Raj Films has tied up with Walt Disney Pictures for

Roadside Romeo

, while Ravi Chopra is making

Paanch Panday

. Then there is 3D animation film,

Icy N Spicy

, which is produced and directed by Delhibased Anil Goyal. UTV too will come up with five animation films, out of which

Arjun, Alibaba

and

Dream Blanket

will be the first to hit the screens.

Star value:

Even our stars are contributing to the fanfare. If Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor have lent their voices to

Roadside Romeo

, Ajay Devgan and Kajol have done the same for Kumar Mangat's

Toonpur Ka Superhero

.

Says Shailendra Singh of PPC, "A star face or voice is certainly a driving force. In April, PPC will release Jumbo, which will have the voice of one of top three Khans."

Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji are expected to dub for Karan Johar's film.

Dramatic moves:

So far mythology has been a bankable subject for filmmakers aspiring to make animated films. Says Alpana Mishra, head of production, UTV, "Our mythology is full of the kind of stories these superhero films are made of."

But now filmmakers are going beyond mythology. Imagine a dog saying, "Rahul is a cheater?," the famous lines from Karan Johar's film

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

. Yes, you'll see this soon in Johar's

Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai

.

"Directed by Tarun Mansukhani, it is a love story of a dog," says Johan.

Roadside

... too narrates the story of a dog. "Romeo is a dog, who is cared for by a rich family. His life takes a turn when his master abandons him," says a source from Yash Raj Studio.

Money at stake:

The money riding on these films is big. "A recent industry estimate claims that in India, animation industry is of Rs 2000 crore and is expected to double up in five years," says Mishra.

According to Singh,

Ravana Returns

will cost approximately Rs 50 crore.

"It's a big budget project, in terms of technique, marketing and content." Even

Icy n Spicy

is a Rs three crore film.

"It's an 80-minute long film with eight characters," says Goyal. "Our next film will be

Dashavtuar

which is planned at a cost of Rs 30 crore."

For your eyes only:

Roadside Romeo

is a story of a dog whose life changes when his master abandons.

Dream Blanket

wil hit the theatres by 2009
Made on a budget of a whopping Rs three crore,

Icy N Spicy

will have eight songs