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An undying love for cartoons

For legendary animation expert Ram Mohan life really begins at 60 when it comes to his work-cum-passion, as Lakshmi B.Ghosh found out...

For some, life begins at 60. And nothing, perhaps, fits this calm and poignant Indian legend more than the tag of a man who brought the child out in him better with every passing year.

Never turning back and seldom giving up, as one of the pioneers of the country's animation industry, cartoonist-turned-animation expert Ram Mohan comes packed with an undying romance for the medium and never ending stories with colourful characters for his audience.

Completing his 50th year in the animation sector in 2006, Ram Mohan was in the Capital recently as one of the jury members of the Vatavaran Environment Film Festival.

He may not be happy with the quantity of work being done in the country nearly half a century after he himself started out, but projects a positive picture of the future, which he believes will eventually bring better times for the country's animation gurus.

A chemistry student originally, cartoons were only a hobby for Ram Mohan to begin with. Beginning with character design and story boards, the big break came when he met veteran Disney animator, Clair Week, then serving a two-year stint at the Films Division as the head of the cartoon films unit. Asked by Week to join as a trainee, Ram Mohan joined almost around the same time as another eminent Indian cartoonist, Bhimsain.

And while some like Bhimsain continue to play an important role in the development of the animation industry, there were many who fell along the way.

"One of the major reasons animation did not pick up in a big way in India was that not many from my generation stayed on. I personally have stayed on because I want to train more and more youngsters. At UTV there are a lot of youngsters who learn on the job and that is the one way we will be able to improve in the world market,'' feels the animation expert.

Even after countless commercials, children's films, an animated feature and an international animated production of the Ramayana, Ram Mohan says he is still learning, especially to cope with technological changes.

But the problem with Indian animation, feels Ram Mohan, is right at the concept stage, where cartoons are still seen as a children's product.

"If the aim is popularise animation, then we must go beyond children's programme. The reason it is doing well in Japan is because there were programmes that could be seen by children and adults. We have to develop that kind of taste among people here first. It is high time that channels started showing that kind of work,'' feels Ram Mohan.

There may be much movement in the industry, specially with many foreign firms outsourcing work to India, but Ram Mohan points out that there is need to move beyond being an affordable quality producer to content development for our own television and motion picture industry.

"The problem is making an animation film is expensive and unless people come forward to produce such ventures it will not be possible. Bhagmati was a step in that direction, but then the plan to make a full animation film was dropped midway. We need one big success to open the market, but for that too we need someone to invest and take the risk,'' he notes.

Best known as the creator of Meena, the UNESCO character who won hearts across the world, as chairman of Graphiti Multimedia Pvt Ltd, Ram Mohan, insists that with the market warming up to global competition, this is no time to retire or even think about. "I am beginning to enjoy the new technology. And I do really feel like I have just started.''

Perhaps the dream line that every professional in love with his work would like to be known by, for this `young' learner, life clearly does begin at 60.

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