MUMBAI: Maya Entertainment Ltd. (MEL) has roped in animation industry expert Sanjiv Waerkar to be the chief creative officer at its education vertical Maya Academy (MAAC).
Waerkar has over 17 years experience in the animation industry. His company RMB of which he became a partner in 1996 was rated the best in the industry and is the only animation studio to have won three consecutive IFFA awards. Waerkar has also directing several TV series for UTV.
He will be heading the academic development team of MAAC as well as spearheading a vertical called MAAC Creative Shop (MCS).
Under MCS, students of MAAC all over the country will be given an opportunity to be the originators of content ideas for all forms of platforms including TV, home video, films, mobile, gaming and other new media streams.
MAAC will provide requisite seed capital to fund the development budget of the concepts so originated and short-listed by Waerkar the designated team to drive this vertical.
Short-listed concepts will then be developed into pre-launch kit (comprising the script, key character designs and a three – five minute promo fully animated and developed) for presentation to the producers in the industry for licensing and co-development. MAAC expects to generate five such pre-launch kits in the first 12 months of this initiative, to start with.
Maya Entertainment Ltd managing director Ronald D’mello said, "It is our privilege to rope in someone like Sanjiv into MAAC. The talent creation in the industry in India suffers from lack of creative orientation and MAAC has been pioneering various initiatives to make the students more creatively oriented like the Academic Advisory Board comprising of studio representatives, on the job internship in MEL studios, etc. MCS is a new innovative initiative, which will take this to altogether a new level where the opportunity is now given to one and all of our students all around the country to be the ideators and originators of content. Who knows which part of the country the "Dhoni" of Indian animation will come from?"
Waerkar added, "After about two decades on the studio side, I am privileged to be part of something where I can not only utilise my creative and production expertise to create content but also pass on my expertise to young aspirants in animation. MAAC provides me a great opportunity in both spheres and I am rearing to go."
