The 'Ringmaster' comes to India

Hollywood producer Barrie Osborune, of the Lord of the Rings fame, and his colleague Michael Peyser and Indian animation film maker N Madhusudhanan are joining hands to set up a digital studio in Chennai, called 'Vayu Digital'.

Prefixing Vayu  (Hindi for wind) for the studio's name is indicative of the swiftness with which India is growing fast on the global animation and VFX map, an e-mail quoting Madhusudhanan said.

To be set up in Chennai with a local partner, the studio will have its head office in Los Angeles, he said, adding it will have 50-75 artistes.

A combination of western and local talent, the studio will raise the headcount to 250-300 in the next couple of years.

"We are not competing with Hollywood's visual effects majors but are looking to provide a complementary role instead," the Indian film producer said.