Merry Shelly

How does it feel knowing that  DreamWorks’ dedicated unit comprising of Indian  animators have made Merry Madagascar?

It is a very happy moment for us. The Bangalore unit has practically made the movie. There are many other projects in the pipeline. Meanwhile, we have extensive training programmes coming up for the staff in India and they will be guided internally by the efficient staff at DreamWorks.

After having tapped into the Indian market, what do you think of the talent pool?
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Indians are very talented and we are really happy to have them on board with us. It is a new market and the growth potential is tremendous. The talent pool in the country is very rich. As of now we don’t really have a concrete plan for business tie-ups with Indian movie companies in place, but we do have an initiative with Paprika (one of India’s leading animation and game content provider) for Bangalore.

We hear that you are a big Bollywood fan. Whom would you like to cast if you happen to involve Indian actors in your big animation ventures?

I’m a big Shah Rukh Khan fan so he is definitely on my wish list, but there are no plans with anyone as of now.

Any plans of making an animation movie dedicated only to the Indian market?

We generally don’t do that. Like in the case of Kung Fu Panda, it was made with a global appeal to entertain people across the globe. As of now there is no plan to make an animation movie catering just to the Indian market.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Bangalore unit was founded a couple of years back and already has approximately 80 Indians working there.