Mickey Mouse has Indian rival
By S. Suresh
THE popular cartoon character Mickey Mouse is in for a tough time ahead from a rival who is being delivered from one of Asia’s foremost animation studios located in Thiruvananthapuram.

• DILLAGI
• JAANWAR
• DIL BOLE PIYA PIYA

Is Chandigarh a recording Mecca?
By Nonika Singh

AS Punjabi music undergoes a metamorphosis (the emphasis shifts from sad melodies to foot-tapping music), technological expertise crosses the frontiers and becomes accessible simultaneously across the globe, listeners turn discerning as their choice of surround system speakers reflects, Chandigarh emerges as a recording centre of sorts.

At last count, there were six recording studios in Chandigarh and Mohali, two of which have sprung up within a space of few months. Then T-Series’ plan to open one is on the anvil. Plus Baba Studio in Mohali (the first-ever recording studio in the city’s satellite town, set up by Daon Baba, a kind of religious spiritual figure) awaits a complete revamp.

For recording is no longer a simple, two-track analog affair which had little room for errors and the entire song had to be repeated ad nauseam till the singer got all his P’s and Q’s of sargam right. Today recording has graduated to multiple track (24, 36, 48) made possible with technological marvels like A Dat, Hi-8 and hard disc in which the minutest of antaras can be rectified.

As of now, recording is a serious business, a sophisticated technological art, as manifested in Gaurav Trehan’s H.L. Studio at Mohali for which he had roped in the services of one of the best recording brains in the country. Daman Sood, a recording engineer whose studios bear his “individual stamp of sound”, designed the aesthetically appealing and acoustically suitable studio replete with professional recorder mixer, post-production reverbs, special harmoniser et al.

But Ravinder Happy, an artist, argues, “The real crux in Chandigarh is not the availability of the state of art gadgets, but the dearth of spilled technicians who know how to handle the equipment.” Perhaps, realising this, Gaurav’s recordist Surendra Rajwat (whose experience spawns working with singers of the ilk of Udit Narayan) has come all the way from Bombay. Sur Sangam, a studio in Sector 22, has gone one step ahead and for its studio in Sector 17, they have opted for computerised recording machines which prempt the need of manpower.

Other studios in Chandigarh, including Cheema Studio in Sector 35, feeling the heat emanating from the edge their competitiors possess, too have upgraded their equipment. Predictably, in an era when technology changes faster than you blink your eyes, keeping pace is easier said than done. In fact, the hard disk format (Sur Sangam plans to install it soon) has yet to make its debut in the city. Setting up a recording studio is exorbitantly expensive. As per rough estimates, the minimum cost could run up to a little less than a crore!

Gurcharan Virk, working for a studio in Sector 22, informs, “Presently, some of the machines could cost as high as 50-60 lakhs. So even if the studios were running round the clock, it would take at least a decade for it to cut even.” Gaurav, who wouldn’t reveal the exact figures, adds, “For me, this isn’t a regular business venture, but an extension of my association with world of art.”

Many feel that some of the owners, like Gaurav and the proprietor of Sur Sangam, are going the Gulshan Kumar way. No they are certainly not raring to become sitting ducks for underworld mafia henchmen. Since they already own audio cassette companies, setting up a recording studio was a logical corollary, a kind of backward integration of their well-entrenched business.

Owning a recording studio not only spelt sound economics, but also saved them the bother of rushing to Bombay where recording rates are in the higher bracket of something like Rs 2,000 per hour! Comparatively, Chandigarh offers a more reasonable fare of Rs 600 to Rs 700 per hour. Interestingly, though facilities vary, the fierce competition acting as a leveller has kept in check the polarisation of prices at two extremes.

Despite the competition and rivalry, surprisingly there is a place for everyone. As a rule each music director has an informal tie up (which translates into regular work for the studio and the director) with a particular studio. Sprouting of recording studios has only concided with the boom in Punjabi musical jagat in the post-terrorism period. Today, the refrain, “a Punjabi singer is born every hour,” might sound cliched and exaggerated, but is nevertheless a resounding fact. Nearly 50-60 songs are recorded everyday in Chandigarh alone.

Virk informs that a majority of the recordings like instant food are just a few hours recording exercises and most of the work thus produced doesn’t even see the light of the day.

In the ensuing rush, “I want to be a singer” fever has spread like plague, especially amongst rural youth, constantly in search of a passport to the celebrity club. Gone are the days when audio companies like HMV tested a voice before recording it. Today, anyone and everyone blessed with a set of vocal chords can queue up in the line of aspirants, provided he is willing to cough up the half a lakh required for cutting an album. The overnight success stories have only fuelled the mania in the ragion.

But what is the rationale behind Chandigarh becoming a recording Mecca? After all, the city is not exactly known for its Punjabiyat. Rather, it is (in)famous for its snooty, nose high up in the air bureaucratic culture.

Some argue that Chandigarh’s centralised location and its clean environs make it an ideal convergence centre and visiting the city is akin to taking a trip down “sapnon ki nagri”. But, the more plausible explanation is the presence of nearly all top music directors of Punjab in the vicinity of City Beautiful. Besides, Sanjeev Kapoor, a music director, opines, “Though talented musicians are interspersed all over Punjab, its in Chandigarh that one finds a complete group of musicians, which makes recording much easier.”

Does this mean Chandigarh has carved a niche on the recording map of the country? Yes and no. While it has stopped music directors like H.M. Singh and Surendra Bachhan from moving lock, stock and barrel to Bombay, Virk insists that there is an influx of musicians towards Chandigarh for work. But Happy fumes, “Tell me, which top singer has recorded in Chandigarh? The audios being churned out here are targeted at truck drivers.”

Gaurav agrees that indeed the recording place of origin of top chart-busters is Bombay. But he hopes in future, all this will change. A sceptic points out that the real test of a studio is not flash in the pan celebrity recordings, but consistency and quality.

On that barometer, whether Chandigarh’s recording studios prove their mettle and turn out to be result-oriented user’s facility, only time will tell.

Committed to printmaking
By Prem Singh

THE Indian Printmakers Guild is a Delhi-based organisation committed to printmaking. The guild was formed by 12 young printmakers on August 15, 1990, for the promotion and projection of printmaking as a medium of artistic expression. These 12 printmakers are Ananda Moy Banerji, Bula Bhattacharya, Dattatraya Apte, Jayant Gajera, Kanchan Chander, Kavita Nayar, K.R. Subbanna, Moti Zharotia, Skukla Sawant, Subba Ghosh, Sukhvinder Singh and Sushant Guha.

Earlier Group 8 of Delhi had done some work in this direction, but soon it lost its way after a few all India shows.

The guild held an exhibition in Chandigarh at the invitation of the local Government College of Art from October 11 to 25. This was the first time that works of these 12 printmakers were seen here by artists, art lovers and art students.

K.R. Subbanna, secretary of the guild, along with pritmakers Ananda Moy Banerji, Dattatraya Apte, Bula Bhattacharya, Sukhvinder Singh and Sushant Guha were in the city to attend the opening. They were impressed by the facilities available for printmaking in the college and the students’ enthusiasm for this medium.

Subbanna told this writer that the endeavour of the guild was to highlight the finer nuances of the medium to the masses by providing information about tools, chemicals, blocks, stage proofs and proof prints through display and demonstration during exhibitions. The difference between the original print and the reproduction of an original work of art was also stressed upon.

Subbanna also said that their efforts to form links with printmakers across the world had culminated in the holding of exhibitions in Edmonton (Canada), Kathmandu (Nepal), and Stuttgart (Germany).

The guild further substantiated their activities by carrying information about the creative process of each artist member. Essays and articles on the growth and development of printmaking in India were published in catalogues. The techniques and conceptual issues that revolved around this medium and the vital need of mechanical reproduction were also discussed through audio-visual presentations and publications.

Subbanna proudly revealed that the guild had been able to achieve its goal with no grants from central, state or autonomous bodies.

Students of the Chandigarh art college worked for a week in the presence of visiting artists. The techniques that students of printing and graphics experimented with were those of silk screen, offset plate, paper-pulp relief, etching, lithography and wood carving.

All 12 printmakers have a distinct style of their own which focusses on the changing attitudes in printmaking where the mark-making possibilities of the medium and recent digital advances in image-generating processes have carved a niche for themselves besides the traditional techniqes.

The guild has now plans to set up printmaking studios where a regular interaction can be established between printmakers and printmaking learners at national and international levels.

Mickey Mouse has Indian rival
By S. Suresh

THE popular cartoon character Mickey Mouse is in for a tough time ahead from a rival who is being delivered from one of Asia’s foremost animation studios located in Thiruvananthapuram.

The rival Indian character is being created by the fledgling Toonz Animation India, in its animated film “Who is the Greatest,” based on one of the stories centring around the mouse figuring in the “Panchathantra” stories.

Toonz Chief Executive Officer Bill Dennis told UNI recently that the film would be ready within 20 weeks. The Toonz’s studio at Technopark in the city became functional in August this year. Toonz Animation, a state-of-the-art creative animation production studio, is the first of its kind in South Asia.

Mr Dennis said the focus of Toonz Animation India would be on development and production of original animated television series and feature films based on the rich treasury of Indian mythology, folklores and legends for international audiences. Indian stories, despite being rich and infused with moral values, did not get any consideration from the animators at all. “We are aiming at all mythologies and folklores which are popular in India,” He added.

“So far we have been aping the Western character and stories because the entire creation happens in the West. Things should change now with the most modern facilities available here.”

Mr Dennis, who served 20 years at Walt Disney Studio, Was Vice-President of the studio’s Feature Animation Division until 1993. He then spend four years as President of Fil-Cartoons, a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting in Manila Before founding Toonz Animation, he was the CEO of RM/USL Studios in Mumbai and Singapore.

Mr Dennis said preliminary works had already begun for the production of the second animation film,“The Clever Barber” based on an Indian story. A few more stories popular in Kerala and the rest of India would be attempted one by one.

The cartoons based on Indian stories would be very distinct from those of the West because the former would have a moral to be preached and lesson to be taught. Therefore, the cartoons based on Indian stories would have a ready market not only in India, but also at the international level, he said.

Pointing out that there was still dearth of good stories in the West for animation films, he said the strength of India in this field, which remained unexploited, was the presence of Panchathantra and Jataka and many such stories. But there was lack of technical quality in the animation field in India. Toonz Animation wanted to fill that vacuum, he added.

Asked if the Toonz would do animation films based on Indian classics such as “Ramayana” and “Mahabharata” Mr Dennis said it would be a difficult task because of the umpteen active characters in them. “But still, we are talking about it to see if anything is possible.”

He said with the opening of Toonz Animation, Indian animation industry would have international production values and qualities.

Mr Dennis said the Toonz’s studio provide a full range of production services for television episodes and commercials. The Cartoon Network, Hong Kong, had already signed an agreement for the production of a series of commercials. During its first year, it would create for original pilots for episodic television. In its third year, the studios would produce its first feature film.

He said the pricing at Toonz was approximately 25 to 40 per cent less than major studios in Manila, Seoul and Taipei. Pricing in some cases was even less than in China.

Mr Dennis cited the low cost manpower and an English-speaking work force as the biggest advantage for Toonz due to its location in Kerala.

He said Toonz Animation, the first American-owned digital ink and paint studio, was set up in Kerala against the background of India emerging as a potential player in the international animation industry.

He said Toonz had recruited a group of top creative professionals, training specialists, artists and animators to support its full range of animation service, including pre-production. The group’s collective experience was unmatched by any other studio in India’s animation industry. The studio would have 150 animators by the end of the current year. This would be doubled in 18 months.

Toonz could bring more fame to Bollywood celebrities, and extra earnings in voice-over work and residuals, he said, adding, “India has the world’s most prolific film output, and is second to Hollywood in the overall entertainment industry. Now India is gunning for animation as well.”

“Hollywood is waking up to the fact that India provides a cost-effective viable alternative for quality animation,” he added.—UNI

Sunny’s Punjabi “Dillagi”

DILLAGI (Venus): When Sunny Deol directs a home production starring himself and little brother Bobby Deol, it is but natural that they should go theth Punjabi. But for a few exceptions, the album reminds you of a Punjabi cassette.

Another noticeable feature is that this is not the creation of one music director. No, the number is not even two. There are as many as four music directors: Sukhwinder Singh, Jatin-Lalit, Anand-Milind and Shankar-Ehsan-Loy. That should be a record of sorts. No wonder the album is of uneven quality.

There is variety in lyrics also. The Deols have hired Javed Akhtar, Sukhwinder Singh Tejpal Kaur to write for them. The main disappointment is Javed, none of whose songs has his usual stamps of quality.

The only song that moves you is Tanhai... written by Javed Akhtar and sung by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

We always knew how good Deols are in dancing. Now we are convinced about their musical acumen as well!

JAANWAR (Venus): Anand-Milind are a little better off in this individual attempt than in the earlier rainbow presentation but only marginally so.

The album witnesses newcomers giving a decent account of themselves. Sunidhi Chauhan is good in the chours Paas bulati hai... with Alka Yagnik, better in the duet Tujhko na dekhoon... with Udit Narayan and the best in the solo, Rishta dilon ka... This is one singer we may be hearing a lot in the days to come.

Sapna Awasthi is heard in a film album after quite some time but does not impress with her Angoori angoori...

Sameer is fast replacing Anand Bakshi as the prolific writer of songs of ordinary virtue.

DIL BOLE PIYA PIYA (Wings): Jawahar Wattal has this knack of picking up promising singers, polishing them and presenting them in a big way. Her latest protege is Poornima. She may have miles to go but she has begun right.

She sings with confidence in Ho gaya hai mujhko pyaar pyaar... Chori pakdi gayee... and Kaise rahoongi tere bina... and that is a good enough average for a newcomer.

Jawahar Wattal’s music has all the trappings of playback music. Lyrics by Dev Kohli and Shankar are no different.