Niraj Vikram is known for his writing in the entertainment industry. He has mesmerized the cartoon business, which has lately developed into the ultimate vehicle for artistic expressions, such as ‘Motu Patlu’, ‘Dabangg’, ‘Shiva’, ‘Veer – the robot Boy’, and ‘Gattu Battu’. He also wrote several other popular television shows such as ‘Shakalaka Boom Boom’, and ‘Son Pari’.
Niraj Vikram served in the Army as a Short service commissioned Officer for five years and then came to Mumbai to pursue his dream of joining Bollywood. He got recognized for his writing skills and has also acted in a few films such as ‘Tiger’, ‘Panther Waqt Ki Raftar’, ‘All the Best’, ‘Andaaz’, and ‘Son Pari’ and have produced a few short films such as ‘Daadu Ji’, ‘Ting Tong’, a Short film on ‘Swachta Abhiyan and the ‘The Pandavas’, ‘Lallan Babban Jumman’ to mention a few.
ETimes approached the talented writer to discuss the Animation industry and his journey into the glam world and much more. Excerpts from the interview:
How different is writing the animation film/content from that of theatricals and TV shows?
In animation you have to use more imagination than direction, the sky’s the limit for creativity in animation filmmaking which is not possible in mainstream cinema as you have lots of constraints.
Why was your ‘Motu Potlu’ not dubbed in Telugu but other south languages such as Tamil and others?
It is due to a better market for that content in those languages. But in Telugu due to already the availability of lots of local content, they couldn’t market there.
In terms of budget how different is it to make an animation film?
The budget to make an animated film is the same as an action film, where the budget increases with bigger stars, sets, locations, and technicians.
In animation also if you go for better quality animation the budget increases. There are different qualities of Animation content available based on the budget given. If you want international standard quality it will be very high to make it. If you just want local quality animated content then the budget comes down to 1.5 crores based on its genre, length, and characters.
What do you mean by quality of animation?
If you want the quality of ‘Avatar’ and other internationally acclaimed animation cinema standards, then the budget will be hugely high. But the national quality is entirely different. The more you demand the quality the more money is needed for Animation.
What is the average duration that takes to make one complete animation film?
It takes almost a year. It again depends on what time is your movie. For one episode itself, it takes 3 months. In animation, the more time your content has, the more money it takes and so is the time It needs to make it.
Is it possible to make an animation film with a smaller budget? In addition, What is the ideal budget it takes to make one good quality animation theatrical?
No, not possible. Because animation filmmaking is a long process. It takes lots of time and manpower as it has different departments. 3D is even more difficult and costly in comparison to 2D as it contains depth, camera movements, and several other technicalities. The ideal budget is difficult to say, it can start from Rs 2.5 crores and end at Rs 50 crores also. But it is very tough that someone invests so much in a children’s film in India that does not have a theatrical market.
When you talk about live-action films, there are these big-budget spectacles known as ‘Pan-India’ movies, Can that apply to the animation industry too, where you make one good big budgeted Animation flick with Indian characters and get It dubbed into other major languages and markets?
Right now, in India, there is no demand for such films. We made the ‘Motu Potlu’ film, we didn’t get any commercial appreciation for it though people liked it. People are willing to watch Internationally acclaimed standard content when it comes to theatricals. In India, we are yet to break that norm, in the sense, If one such big film gets a superhit, the fate of the animation industry will change forever in India.
All we need is one big hit. However, people have tried it in the past such as ‘Chota Bheem’, ‘Motu Potlu’, ‘Lava-Kusa’, and a few others were done but financially they weren’t very successful.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ctysnYF0Z_Q
There are hardly any animated films made in India, despite we have lots of Animation studios and schools that teach Animation, why?
We are not backward from any animation artist in the world. All those internationally acclaimed movies are made in India only. But why we are not making such local content is due to the budget and its revenues. Because the TV channel gives a certain amount to the producer, the producer looks into the profit and makes it within limited resources as it is not giving any theatrical business to him.
What are your upcoming Animation projects?
‘Pandavas’ is my latest project, it will come on Pogo. It deals with the childhood of Pandavas, other projects will be coming in Summer. They are all children’s comedies and TV Series. There are a few films also but those are Telefilms which are somewhere between 80 – 90 mins.
Being a senior writer, What do you have to say to all those who love watching animation content and its makers?
All I want to say is that It just takes one superhit feature film at the box office to change the fate of the Indian animation Industry, then everyone will join the bandwagon and compete in the world of animation cinema. We have the necessary talent here. We are no lesser than anyone in giving international quality content as most of those International films are made by Indian studios only.
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