Bollywood all set for an animated epic-based on Lord Ram

Mumbai, Sept 15 : Riding piggyback on newfound rush for Indian animation films, Bollywood is all set to roll out another hit, based on Lord Ram.

"It was time that we made our own animation films and visual-effects films. Why not? Because all the talent is here in India! May be what we lacked was funds or may be people believing that we can do our own films and scope I think is endless here," said Juhi Chawla, Bollywood actor who gives the voice for the heroine Sita, consort of Lord Ram.

Actors said giving life to characters through their voices was a challenging task.

"Dubbing for animated film was lot easier than what we do for films because we have a freedom to do things according to our wish. Here we have the words and we can pour the emotions according to our will. We could try out various tones and be innovative. It was fun doing all this. This was a new experience," said Manoj Bajpai who dubbed for the main character Lord Ram.

Ashutosh Rana has lent his voice for the character of demon king Ravana while Mukesh Rishi gives voice to Hanuman.

Chetan Desai directs the 3D animated movie produced by Maya Entertainment.

The Indian animation industry has grown over the years, but it wasn't until 2005 that a full-length animated feature film was made in India in "Hanuman".

The film's surprise success at the box office has prompted even Bollywood producers to eye the animation pie.

The key factors that guide the industry in India are the low cost production and the large bank of highly competent and skilled labour.

Software industry's apex organisation Nasscom earlier said India's animation and gaming market was expected to quadruple to 1.3 million dollars by 2009 and employ about 30,000 animators.

The cartoon film boom isn't restricted to Hindi or English languages and filmmakers in southern Indian languages are also stepping in.

Animation films have not done that well in India, despite being the world's most prolific movie factory. But industry experts say changing tastes, especially among the young, could change that.

ANI