The First Steps...

Heart-warming music, films, dance, poetry, theatre, art and prose… still there was something amiss from the creative platter that the City of Joy has been able to offer to the world. It was to fill in this gap that The Animation Society of Kolkata or TASK took its first few steps on the 8th of November, 2008 at the Gyan Manch auditorium. The formation of the society was announced in front of a 300 strong audience comprising of animation students, professionals and enthusiasts from all over the city.

A non profit independent body formed by a bunch of animation lovers with passion for story telling and duly supported and guided by a star studded list of eminent experts in animation from India, TASK’s vision is to strengthen the creative dynamics of the artistic and technical people in Eastern India to enable them to excel in the field of animation by fostering and nurturing talent through a forum wherein they can exchange and assimilate ideas, information and expertise. To promote the art of animation and to Nurture, Develop and Encourage Animation talent and Animation industry in Eastern India are its main two objectives.
TASK boasts of an Advisory Board that has made the creative circuit of India proud, comprising of:

Sekhar Mukherjee: Currently Head of Animation and coordinator for the department at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. An artist, satirist, illustrator and academician, Sekhar 'da' is a live wire with boundless enthusiasm.

Vaibhav Kumaresh: An NID (Ahmedabad) alumnus and ardent supporter to the cause of animation, Vaibhav brings a fresh perspective to the society. He has won prestigious awards in India and overseas and has recently returned form a short stint at Flikerpix Ltd.–Belfast (Ireland), where he was the director of animation and key animator for a short in-house production. Vaibhav specializes in traditional / clay animation. He is a keen trainer and believes in sharing his knowledge for the benefit of others.

Prosenjit Ganguly: Designer, Director, stop-motion animator and educator, Prosenjit Ganguly's short films have received 3 international awards and have been screened in over 20 countries. He has also served on the faculty of the National Institute of Design. Presently, as Director, Special Projects at Toonz Animation India, he is primarily involved in the development of original animation content and creative direction. He also makes time to teach specialized Courses in Visual Communication and conduct animation and creativity workshops for children.

Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury: The renowned Bengali director started off as an ad filmmaker. He has been able to mark a niche for himself in the film industry with a highly succesful debut venture 'Anuranan'.

Arijit Dutta: Managing Director, Priya Entertainment, he operated at the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association as its youngest president. Of late, he has also ventured into acting and done films with directors like Gautam Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Raja Sen, Rituparno Ghosh and Anjan Dutt.

Bickram Ghosh: Noted percussionist and tabla maestro, Mr. Bickram Ghosh needs no introduction. He figures prominently amongst the best in the world and is very passionate about encouraging the development of passion and creativity.

Dr. Madhuja Mukherjee: Faculty member at Jadavpur University film studies department and has also taught at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. Her research interests are in the fields of Indian Films with a particularly of the independence era. She is also an enthusiastic film maker.

The inaugural address was given by Mr. Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, the noted film scholar, and professor, Department of Film Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. He stressed on the growing importance of animation even in the live-action films and praised the effort to bring together all those who are passionate about this medium of story-telling to share a forum such as TASK. Mr. Mukhopadhyay also unveiled the logo of TASK which was revealed to the audience through a short piece of Claymation as the awe-struck audience burst out in appreciation of the effort.


Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ramesh Ruia, the president of the society said that TASK was the first initiative of this kind in eastern India and a long awaited enterprise which would help provide a platform to ideas that emanate from the coffee houses and addas. The Eastern Region of India has always been a store house of talent and creativity – it is time to nurture this talent and put it in its right place on the world map.

The society also took this opportunity to announce the G. D. Salarpuria Foundation Annual Scholarship in Animation for Rs. 25,000/- to be awarded to deserving students of this region to make it a little easier for them to pursue their dreams.


With the launch of its website, www.taskindia.org, TASK also announced the animation film competition “KOL-Katha”- to be held in the first quarter of 2009. The competition is open to all story tellers who want to use animation as a medium of expression, the details of which will be available on the website.

The highlight of the programme was an interactive session on the art of animation by Mr. Sekhar Mukherjee called “Every Picture Tells a Story”. Sekharda’s perspectives gave the audience much to think about. The animation films screened by him enlightened the audience about the limitless possibilities in animation. He explained that TASK was to ensure that through many such workshops, seminars, festivals and competitions dedicated to animation, animation students across the eastern region were to be educated about the innumerable ways in which an animation film could be made.

Prosenjit Ganguly though absent from the event due to hectic schedules, sent in his best wishes through email:

“Hello Kolkata!

Animation has put it's best foot forward in the land of Goopy and Bagha! The land that has been showering us with the best of creative treats, has long deserved an initiative of this kind. The first rhymes you learn to utter, are nonsense verses of Abol Tabol, the first vernacular you read are creations of the World Poet, and the first film that grabs you, has ghosts dancing to Mridangam beats! There is no reason why a language as unique as animation should not flow in the veins of 'generations' that have grown up on these amazing joyrides of fantasy! This city has a responsibility to continue delivering the goods to the present and forthcoming generations. It is a challenge. Because the standards that have been set are so high!
TASK promises to bring the buzzing movie minds together, to reflect, share and grow into true descendants of this land's unparalleled art heritage. We look forward to an extremely educative, entertaining and engrossing line up of activities that would set higher standards for storytellers, craftsmen and musicians of this medium. We look forward to be able to introspect, critique and encourage each other on this brand new platform!
I invite every film loving citizen to pass the word around: The Animation Society of Kolkata is here! Get cracking!

Needless to say, the other Advisory Board members who couldn’t make it also wished TASK well.
But the icing on the cake was the rush to collect membership forms after the event drew to a close. It was indeed heart warming to see the long queues of animation enthusiasts outside the auditorium which translated into only one realization- the hard work to unite the animation lovers of Kolkata had already begun to pay off!!!

Looking forward to bigger crowds and even better events under the banner of TASK in the near future…