'Talent in GFX and animation sectors should be tapped'

Ace director S Shankar, the pioneer in using graphics and animation extensively in Indian films, feels India has enormous “artistic and technical excellence” talent in the two aforesaid sectors, but they remain “untapped, unrecognised and isolated”.

Organisations should come forward to act as a bridge between the talented people and the industry, Shankar said.

The filmmaker, who is currently directing Kamal Hassan for the sequel to their much-celebrated 1996 film Indian, spoke at length about his experiences in using graphics and animation in almost all his films, more so in Endhiran and its sequel 2.0 – both with superstar Rajinikanth in the lead role.

Speaking after receiving the TN Icons Award by the ICT Academy at its BRIDGE 2019 event here, Shankar went down the memory lane reminiscing his experiences in bringing out Endhiran and 2.0 which heralded a new phase in the Indian film industry as the technology used in these movies were truly world standard.

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TVS Logistics Managing Director R Dinesh and Arun Alagappan, Executive director of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited, were also presented with the TN Icon Awards by Tamil Nadu Information Technology Minister Dr M Manikandan.

Indian graphics and animation industry is gaining acceptance across the world and it is great news that Hollywood is outsourcing Indian talent in these sectors, Shankar said, adding that he used 4D sound technology in 2.0 for the first time in the world.

“I have used most of the Indian talent in my films, but for some complex and intricated work, we expect some international GFX support for want of creativity and artistry. I do see a boom in GFX talent in India with the emergence of competent studios with creative ability and technical excellence,” the director said.

Contending that Indian studios are working towards that excellence, he said they have both artistic talent and technical excellence on par with world standards. “We should sharpen the tools and institutions like ICT Academy should act as a bridge between students and the industry in bringing out the talent,” the director said.

ICT Academy is an initiative of the Government of India in collaboration with the state Governments and Industries that endeavours to train teachers and students thereby exercises on developing the next generation teachers and industry ready students.

In his address, Dr Manikandan highlighted the government’s IT policy and listed number of initiatives taken to attract more investments in the sector. He said the state has a total of 80 IT/ITES specific economic zones spread across 1,322 acres in more than six cities and towns.