The Indian folktales like Panchatantra and Jataka caught the imagination of the Indian kids for many centuries, as traditional storytellers passed them on to successive generations. But today, many of these stories are fast vanishing from our midst as the new generation of kids is increasingly turning to internationally televised cartoon programmes. Nearly 28 years after the introduction of the cartoon show ‘Tom and Jerry’, the comic television series of the blue house cat Tom and the light-brown mouse Jerry, it still tops the charts of television shows for kids. Though the Indian characters like Hanuman and Mowgli are also popular on the screen, they never could hold the kids glued to their seats for long, as the shows like Tom and Jerry do.


Currently, the major share of the revenue accounts from huge contracts given to Indian animation companies by Walt Disney, Imax, Warner Brothers, and Sony, who use them as production houses. The Indian animation industry is estimated to be at $460 million in 2008 and is set to grow at 27 percent to reach $1,163 million by 2012.


Nalin Singh, Managing Director, IndiaTales, foresees his future as the ‘Walt Disney’ of India. This young aggressive entrepreneur is keen on taking the challenge, and to give a new lease of life and power to the Indian folk tales and take Indian culture through the silver screen to the global audience. “India has an abundance of real characters and does not need fictional ones like Superman or Spiderman, which cartoon series makers in other countries have created. We want to bring these characters back to life in the reel world and spread their fame far and wide.”

The story of Manikantan, a classic story of ‘Good’ overcoming ‘Evil’, which could transcend all borders, struck Singh as a universal tale that could kick-start his venture IndiaTales. Singh commissioned the ‘Manikantan’ project in November 2007, and envisions finishing the project within a year, hitting the silver screens in five languages – Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu. What sets apart the company from others is breaking the time barriers of typical animation movies that usually take at least two to three years to complete. Singh says, “The company attempts to provide disruptive processes to lower primary project timeline by 75 percent and costs by 50 percent, compared to similar projects within the industry, while delivering eight different styles of animation.”