India Kids Summit Season 5: "I don't think AI can crack human consumption because it is us, humans who consume content," - Rajiv Chilaka, Founder & CEO of Greengold Animation

It was a truly remarkable day at the India Kids Summit Season 5, an initiative by IWMBuzz.com where some of the finest minds of the business gathered and were involved in engrossing conversations that highlighted an array of topics but mainly focused on kids.

One such session was the Fireside Chat which had the Founder and Editor-in-chief of IWMBuzz.com, Siddhartha Laik sitting down with Rajiv Chilaka, the founder and CEO of Greengold Animation. Incidentally, Mr. Chilaka is also the producer and director of the upcoming live-action film, Chota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan.

Here are some excerpts from the conversation-

Siddhartha: How does it feel to be propelling a hit franchise like Chota Bheem over the years in animation and making it so successful? And how did the idea to do a film on it come along?

Rajiv: Over the years, we are used to watching Disney doing and presenting legendary classics when it comes to animation. Today, I feel very nervous as we are doing the first-ever live-action version of Chota Bheem. The first episode of Chota Bheem, the animated series went on-air back in 2008, so we are completing 16 years. It feels great. And so far, we have done several animated films of the characters involved. Hence, we would wonder as to what’s next for us. Doing a feature film with live-action seemed like the next step and over the years, only a select few people have done that. Funnily, when I get an idea, I am crazy enough to just try doing that right away. Luckily, a while ago, we were awarded the property for Chota Bheem and the characters, and hence we don’t need to fight any copyright issues or so anymore. We can make what we want to.

Siddhartha: Fantastic. When you thought of this and decided to make it a film, what were the main challenges you faced?

Rajiv: With this film, it will be the box office. It is something we will be facing for the first time and we can just be hopeful. It is so fascinating that when you think about which was the last kid’s film that came out in India; you might struggle to catch a name. With this kind of scale, the last successful film I can think of is Chota Chetan, which was over 30 years ago. So, we thought of doing this and we are indeed now dependent on the box office. When it comes to the other challenges and how are we marketing the film, we are doing live events, interactions, and several things, especially through social media. We even had a tie-up with Kung Fu Panda 4’s release back in March, when the trailer of Chota Bheem…. was attached to the film.

Siddhartha: When it comes to animation, tell us what are the biggest factors you have taken into consideration over the years. And how do you think AI (artificial intelligence) plays a role ahead?

Talking about the animation space, that in itself has several challenges. You need to have your product crystal clear for IPs (intellectual property). Back then, when we started, it was traditional animation, then came in flash then digital, and so on. What we have noticed and understood is that the quality of animation isn’t a bother for the viewers, it’s always the storytelling. We have over 200 episodes in the bank that we are trying to convert into HD from the earlier days but there are several issues with it.

So, while AI has come in with a lot of advancements, I don’t think AI can crack human consumption because, in the end, it is us humans, who are consuming X or Y content.

Siddhartha: And finally, how do you keep up with the changing trends in animation and what are your plans ahead?

Rajiv: When we create anything new, we always do market research. That’s of prime importance. It is important to know the target audience and accordingly curate the content. The target audience of 8 to 12 years is widely different from the group between 12 to 16 years and so on. Furthermore, to hold any particular viewer, who is a kid to your content is very difficult and it might not last more than two years. Today’s kids are extremely evolved and they are watching everything. The exposure these kids have is incredible, and hence you cannot just serve them with a regular show. You need to adapt and you need to change. I feel really proud that Indian kids are rocking it today, where I can assess that the basic intelligence of a 25-year-old man would be equivalent to a 12-year-old today. It’s fascinating. Concluding with talking animation and its future, it is here to stay. Animation has only grown leaps and bounds, and will furthermore keep growing only to evolve and get better.