Animating India’s future: Industry leaders reflect on International Animation Day

Every year on 28 October, the global creative community celebrates International Animation Day (IAD), a tribute to the birth of animation and its transformative power across cultures and generations. Established in 2002 by Asifa, IAD commemorates the first public performance of projected moving images: Émile Reynaud’s Théâtre Optique in Paris, on 28 October 1892,  a milestone that laid the foundation for modern animation.

Now celebrated in over 50 countries across continents, IAD has grown into a vibrant global tribute to the art, craft and cultural impact of animation. As India’s animation industry continues to grow in scale, ambition and global relevance, the occasion offers a timely opportunity to reflect on its evolution. Leading voices from the Indian animation landscape share what International Animation Day means to them, and how the medium is shaping the future of storytelling, driving technological innovation and connecting audiences across borders.

MIDCCA president and phimCGI co-founder and managing director Anand Bhanushali

“After over two and half decades in animation, to me animation is emotion in motion, a way to bring dreams and emotions to life. In 2025, animation has become an integral part of the entertainment economy, driving storytelling across films, OTT, gaming, and immersive media. It’s no longer a media for kids but for audiences of all ages.”

Zoetrope Animation Studios co-founder and creative director Anirban Paul

“Animation, to me, is the poetry of movement, a space where thought takes form and stillness learns to breathe. It’s the bridge between dream and discipline, where every frame becomes a heartbeat of imagination. In 2025, animation is no longer confined to the screen; it spills into our consciousness, shaping how we see, feel, and remember stories. For the industry, it’s the pulse of a new creative revolution, blending technology and soul. For audiences, it’s not just escapism anymore; it’s empathy in motion, a reminder that even drawings can feel alive when the storyteller believes enough.”

Assemblage Entertainment CEO Arjun Madhavan

“For me and at Assemblage, animation is what we live and breathe. It’s what we’ve learnt and what we’re still learning, sometimes the hard way, sometimes with pure joy. Today, animation isn’t just a part of entertainment; it’s more than a career or an art form. It’s how people connect, escape, and find meaning in stories that look nothing like their own, yet feel deeply familiar.”

IICT founding director and Punnaryug Artvision founder Ashish Kulkrani

“India is celebrating International Animation Day with great enthusiasm, and it’s heartening to see AVGC-XR stakeholders coming together through events, meets and competitions. I truly believe the next global hits in AVGC-XR will emerge from India. There are several IPs and initiatives across verticals nearing release, poised to make a global impact. We’re on the brink of defining and establishing a distinct Indian AVGC-XR style, with iconic character brands set to rise.”

Mahavatar Narsimha director and Kleem Productions creative director Ashwin Kumar

“Animation as a medium is the real language of liberation and freedom of expression. It’s where the heart and soul in its purest form can be expressed. Where imagination is both imitation and reality. The ideas are waiting to be taken and expressed. The artists need to be ready now.”

Charuvi Design Labs founder director Charuvi Agarwal

“For me, animation is a language for inexpressible words and passions. Fantastical stories of myth, legend, lore, horror and more, for adults and children alike are best experienced through this art style. Its versatility can be seen on a screen of any shape and size. It gives life not just to imagination, but to existence.  It is truly the foremost attribute for an artist.”

Studio56 Animation co-founder and director Gauri Sriram

“Personally to me animation is like opening a magical world where anything can happen. It’s like having your fantasies brought to life. It’s an opportunity to bring our cultural stories to life so that the whole world will know what a treasure house India has always been.”

Ssoftoons Entertainment Media co-founder and COO Hansa Mondal

“Animation, to me, is not just a medium of storytelling, it’s emotion into motion. It has the power to take us beyond the limits of imagination, creating worlds where creativity breathes, feelings move, and stories speak a universal language that transcends boundaries, cultures, and generations. In 2025, animation has evolved beyond visuals, it’s immersive, emotional, and experiential, creating connections that let audiences not just watch, but truly feel the story.”

The Beast Legion creator and 2D animator Jazyl Homavazir

“Animation has become an integral part of my life as an artist. It allows me to experiment, grow and put a smile on people’s faces every time I come up with something new. As a career I couldn’t ask for anything more. At this point I believe the industry is still experimenting with new forms of animation  given the success of some home grown titles as well as anime coming in big time. Let’s hope budgets improve and the executives and producers at the top are willing to invest more in the medium.”

FICCI – AVGC-XR Forum chairman and Graphiti Studios co-founder Munjal Shroff

Ink became colour, and colour became motion; from palm leaves to Patachitra to pixels. On International Animation Day, we must commit ourselves to carry India’s art and stories to screens around the world, frame by frame. For me animation is much more than just a medium of entertainment. It’s a medium of artistic expression and truly liberates me as a story teller. The only limitation is my own imagination!”

AniMela festival director Nina Sabnani

“Animation today permeates every sphere from entertainment and education to gaming, transmedia, XR, and VR. For me, personally, it is a space for remembering and reimagining. My practice engages animation as a means of chronicling memory through collaboration with traditional and trained artists, storytellers, and keepers of memory weaving personal and collective histories into motion and renewing inherited forms.”

Toonz Media Group CEO P. Jayakumar 

“Animation has always been about connecting through emotions. It’s not about pixels—it’s about emotions. In India, animation has emerged as a defining creative force, one that even governments now recognise as an industry of immense potential and investment returns. With the creation of the Indian Institute of Creative Technology (IICT) and initiatives like Waves, we have announced to the world that India is ready to lead the global creative revolution. 

Consumer psychology has also undergone a remarkable transformation. From flocking around a single television screen in the yesteryears, to deeply immersive experience even on a personal level the entertainment  landscape is evolving faster than ever. The future of the animation and creative sectors will depend on our ability to adapt swiftly and with agility to these changing needs.”

Saffronic India studio director Prabhakar Sambandan

“In today’s world, animation is far more than moving drawings, it’s the seamless blend of art, technology and imagination that breathes life into the unreal. It has become a universal language powering films, games, apps and the digital experiences that shape our everyday lives. Visual storytelling and learning have proven to be more impactful than traditional methods, resonating not just with children but with adults across industries and cultures.”

Asifa International board member and Asifa India president Sanjay Khimesara

“Animation, to me, is the purest form of creative expression, where imagination meets emotion and technology becomes a storyteller. It’s a medium that transcends language and culture, allowing us to dream, reflect, and connect through moving art. In 2025, as AI and immersive technologies reshape the entertainment landscape, animation continues to stand at the core inspiring wonder, driving innovation, and touching lives across screens big and small. It’s not just about creating motion; it’s about moving hearts and minds.”

Ekabhuya Animation producer Shivangi Ranawat

For me, animation is the alchemy of imagination and craft. The place where stories become worlds, and worlds become shared experiences. With lines blurring through the use of AI, storytelling has come back into sharp focus. The entertainment industry is now shaped by both globalisation and localisation. Global platforms embracing regional voices, and local creators finding global reach. For audiences, animation offers the perfect bridge between technology and humanity.”

PunToon Kids founder Sourabh Kumar

“For me, animation is imagination without limits, a universal language that transcends borders, ages, and cultures. In 2025, it stands at the intersection of art and technology, empowering creators to tell stories that educate, entertain, and inspire. At PunToon Kids, we’ve seen how animation can shape young minds, spark creativity, and connect the world through the magic of storytelling.”

Studio Eeksaurus founder and creative director Suresh Eriyat

“I think work of animators and animation filmmakers around the world should grow beyond their borders, conflicts and politics to make the world a better place to live in by giving the children and grown ups great moments to cherish and feel good with creations that are beyond the reality we live in something we animators are perfectly capable of. This is what I have as a message to the animation industry and creative professionals, sitting here in Russia. I feel humanity needs to heal and animation could very well play a part in that process.”

IDC School of Design assistant professor, animation filmmaker and designer Swati Agarwal

“Animation to me is adding rhythm and life to everything around you- turning stillness or an artwork into movement with an emotion. To the entertainment industry it’s something similar- a medium to tell stories which captivate them and awaken deep emotional churning.”

Plexus Motion Pictures co-founder Yashoda Parthasarthy

“Animation is my home ground. It’s how I learnt filmmaking: through the lens of movement, imagination, and patience and it continues to shape how I approach cinema as a whole. I feel deeply that India has only begun to scratch the surface of what this medium can do. We’re sitting on immense potential. Animation moves audiences to feel deeply, universally. For me, this is the truest way to immortalise our stories and culture, just as the US and Japan have done for decades. I believe it’s our time now, to dream at that scale, and to make those dreams tangible.”