Tata Elxsi today announced that its Animation and Visual Effects arm Visual Computing Labs (VCL), will be the animation partner of Yash Raj Films (YRF), in their collaboration with Walt Disney which will create a series of original and exclusive 3D animated feature films. The first in the series is an animated film “Roadside Romeo” directed by Jugal Hansraj, which is slated for release in 2008. This will be India’s first original full-length 3D animated film. As part of the alliance, VCL will bring the animation capability to this and other future projects, in close collaboration with YRF’s creative team.

VCL and YRF enjoy a close working relationship with VCL having done all of the visual effects for YRF films in the recent years including Fanaa, Kabul Express and Dhoom 2, in which VCL pioneered the ‘Virtual-Set’ methodology for Indian cinema and was the largest special effect work till date for any movie, Ta Ra Rum Pum, which was the most interesting Indian feature project to date, in terms of scope, length of work and complexity and also marked the first time that such a significant 3D Animation sequence was introduced in a mainstream film on Indian screens.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Pankaj Khandpur, Creative Director, VCL said, “This alliance is a step up in the long standing relationship between VCL and YRF. We were a natural choice for YRF given our experience in International projects, the corporate nature of our set up and our stability, expertise and the credibility of the Tata brand name. VCL has been continuously raising the bar as far as animation and special effects are concerned. Having worked with Yash Raj in all their recent productions, they did not have to look beyond VCL when it came to selecting a partner to provide animation and special effects in our future projects under the Walt Disney alliance. We are confident in our ability to create entertaining projects for the Indian audience, which will be on par with other Disney productions as far as the quality of computer animations go.

“We hope to deliver original animated hits which are as iconic as any of Disney’s characters in India,” added Pankaj Khandpur.