Desi Toons 2024, held on 16 November 2024 at HICC Hyderabad, witnessed participation in large numbers from animation enthusiasts. This annual gathering of various stakeholders of the animation production, broadcasting and licensing industry witnessed eye-opening discussions, presentations and masterclasses pertaining to the Indian animation industry.
An initiative by the Government of Telangana in association with Telangana VFX Animation and Gaming Association (TVAGA), Desi Toons is a one-day conclave within IndiaJoy. IndiaJoy is one of India’s largest expos to celebrate gaming, digital media and entertainment content.
Curated by AnimationXpress, Desi Toons 2024 focused on indigenous IPs, latest trends and innovations. The event witnessed a bustling gathering of students alongside delegates from the entire animation ecosystem, including studios, broadcasters, brands and technology companies.
Desi Toons 2024 was presented by Sony YAY!. Anime Times, Hornbill Studios and Powerkids Entertainment were on board as support partners.
The event kicked off with a special address titled Exploring live-action to animated magic with the Kalki team. In this session, Green Gold Animation founder & CEO Rajiv Chilaka engaged in an interesting conversation with producer Swapna Dutt on the stunning world of the special animated prelude B&B: Bujji & Bhairava and how it set the stage for the global blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD. Dutt showcased the trailer of the sci-fi comedy miniseries – streaming on Prime Video – which is set three years before the events of the original film Kalki 2898 AD. Various concept art and pre-rendered characters were shown with Chilaka and Dutt providing valuable insights into the production of this animated spin-off. The team highlighted the dynamics between the show’s lead characters, Bujji – an AI powered car – and Bhairava – an orphan bounty hunter who lives in the city of Kasi in the year 2896 AD – and how they form an unlikely bond as they attempt to the enter the Complex, a haven for the top tier society in the Kalki universe.
Directed by Nag Ashwin, Kalki 2898 AD had stunning visuals. The film included an animated sequence, a breakdown of which was provided in the next session Crafting the epic Kalki intro sequence by Studio Eeksaurus founder and creative director Suresh Eriyat. Eriyat highlighted how his studio picked out human atrocities across history, including the Nazi dictatorship and slave economy in South America among others, and presented them in a heartwrenching short intro sequence for the film. He showcased a step-by-step walkthrough of the work that went into animating certain iconic frames from the sequence. Eriyat shed light on the variations of the background music and how it evolved over the course of the production. He ultimately showcased the final version featuring Hindi cinema actor Amitabh Bachchan singing the intro song for the animated sequence.
The next session for the day was a panel discussion on Exploring the next chapter of animation. The speakers were: ETV Balbharat channel operations head Shashi Prakash Singh, Sony YAY! head marketing OAP licensing and merchandising Sujoy Roy Bardhan, Warner Bros. Discovery South Asia Kids Cluster head Uttam Pal Singh, Reliance Animation Studio CEO Tejonidhi Bhandare, Assemblage Entertainment CEO Arjun Madhavan and Hi-Tech Animation CEO Ashish Thapar. The session was moderated by AnimationXpress founder, chairman, editor-in-chief Anil NM Wanvari. The panellists discussed the challenges and opportunities facing the animation industry and the television medium, and how they can successfully navigate them. Some of their suggestions included studio collaborations, experimenting with different content formats and durations, acquiring overseas content, and identifying the right time slot for the right content. They agreed on three key principles that every broadcaster should embrace: patience, passion, and perseverance.
In the next segment, independent filmmaker, animator, concept artist and illustrator Kartik Mahajan shared the Journey of creating award-winning film Phool Dei. The 2D animated short is named after a harvest festival in Uttarakhand, also known as the Festival of Flowers, which is celebrated by young girls around March and April. The film has been both awarded and nominated at over 50 film festivals worldwide. Mahajan detailed his creative process, explaining how he observed various changes in nature in the Uttarakhand region, which served as the inspiration for his animated film. He also shared concept art from several of the film’s beautiful sequences, including the dream, jungle, valley, and golden hour sequences, among others.
The next session Creative innovations: Global influences and local flavours brought together Graphiti Multimedia founder & FICCI AVGC Forum co-chairman Munjal Shroff, Green Gold Animation’s Chilaka, Vaibhav Studios founder & creative director Vaibhav Kumaresh, philmCGI MD & co-founder Anand Bhanushali and Studio Eeksaurus’ Eriyat. The session was moderated by Powerkids Entertainment CEO Manoj Mishra. Shroff explained how Indian studios should balance their usage of cultural elements to better appeal to the global audience. Chilaka highlighted Green Gold’s journey which started out as a simplistic 2D animation studio and now has partnered up with global streaming giant Netflix to produce 3D animation adaptation of its popular IP Chhota Bheem. The speakers suggested budding professionals in the AVGC industry to start local and go global eventually. Other suggestions from the panel included to be truthful in your work, story matters in a production above anything else and to know your IPs strength and collaborate with other studios.
Desi Toons 2024featured an exciting lineup of masterclasses. The first was Creating an immersive experience for museums presented by Switch Studio founder & director and Roy Studio co-founder & partner Upasana Nattoji Roy. Roy has crafted visuals for Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Festival and various TEDx events across the country. She was involved in designing India’s first 270-degree interactive music museum, the “Indian Music Experience Museum” in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The museum offers an immersive journey through the country’s musical history, including classical music, Hindi cinema, and the recent rise of electronic music. She has designed visuals for other immersive experiences, such as “When Walls Dance”—a collaboration with tribal communities—and “Give Me a Sign,” which uses storytelling through gestures and hand signs. She explained that her design process for these experiences involves research and conceptualisation, narration and dramaturgy, design and prototyping, production, and final testing.
Up next was a panel discussion on Animated advertising: The power of animation in commercials by Paperboat Design Studios & Occult VFX Studios co-founder/director Aashish Mall, Vaibhav More Films founder Vaibhav More, Famous Studios creative head Jayant Hadke, Post Office Studios co-founder and immersive & creative tech CCO Aditya Tawde, Fairycows Animation Studio founder and creative head Bimal Poddar. The session began with a visual showcase of each panel member’s work on commercials. The speakers shared their pitching methodology and explained how they incorporate success metrics to determine whether a commercial will be animated or live-action. They emphasised the importance of having a strong portfolio in similar projects to be selected for high-profile commercial work. The session further explored other aspects of TV commercial production, such as the shortage of writers for animated advertisements and the adoption of new technologies, like AI, in animated commercials.
he event continued with the highly anticipated masterclass From idea to short film to feature: Making of Schirkoa with Ishan Shukla. The masterclass was helmed by Red Cigarette Media director Ishan Shukla, who has previously directed Bandits of Golak, one of the episodes in Star Wars: Visions Season 2. The episode was animated and produced by India’s 88 Pictures. Shukla began with showcasing the trailer of his debut feature film Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust. The film tells the story of a bored office worker who sparks a revolution in a dystopian society, delving into themes of control, brainwashing, and the impulse for liberation. He discussed the creation of a distinctive art style for the film, blending the aesthetics of a graphic novel with video game cinematics—a style inspired by Bethesda’s iconic stealth game Dishonored. Shukla also shared early renders, concept art, and motion capture footage of actors, illustrating the process of bringing his vision to life. Although the film could have been produced as a live-action project, he opted for animation to better capture its trippy, psychedelic elements. The entire film was crafted using the popular game engine Unreal Engine 4.2. During the masterclass, he revealed that he is currently working on an interactive video game.
The final session for the insight packed day was a masterclass on Mastering multi-platform storytelling and government partnerships by Graphiti Multimedia’s Shroff. Shroff showcased Krish, Trish and Baltiboy: Bharat Hain Hum, a co-production between the Central Bureau of Communication and his studio. The animated series narrates the stories of Indian freedom fighters through the adventures of its titular trio. He highlighted the show’s use of both 2D and 3D animation segments to bring the stories to life. Shroff demonstrated how the series has been adapted across different platforms, illustrating the differences between its small-screen version, graphic novel adaptation, and podcast format. Each medium retains the core story while incorporating key changes to suit its unique audience and format. The show is available on 28 Doordarshan channels and streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. It has been dubbed in various languages including Hindi and English.
The 2024 edition of Desi Toons concluded with AnimationXpress’ AVGC 40 Under 40 awards, which honour and recognise the rising artists in the animation, VFX, comics and gaming sectors.