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UTV to recruit art students from rural Maharashtra

Raksha Hegde & Savio G Pinto

UTV Software Communications is planning to recruit art students from Maharashtra's rural belt for its animation venture -UTV Toons. The company has approached art colleges in Jalgaon, Dhule, Nasik, Warda and Amravati among others.

UTV plans to double its manpower in its animation division to 900 by the year-end. The company is also planning to expand its lucrative 2D (two-dimensional) operations.

UTV Toons chief operating officer Nandini Vaidyanathan, said: "We have approached several colleges in small towns and followed it up with aggressive poster campaigns."

In Mumbai, UTV has been handicapped as there are only a handful colleges which provide the requisite skills.

UTV is not leaving any stone unturned to lure the students. Vaidyanathan said UTV will offer the new recruits a free training programme as well as international exposure through co-production projects with renowned studios like FOX, Saban, Canada based-Cine Group, New York based-SPI International, BKN Animation, Singapore based-TV12 and UNICEF.

The media company is looking at offering entry level salaries of Rs 10,000 to the students which can go upto Rs 40,000-50,000 in three years.

As part of its future plans, Vaidyanathan said that UTV is in talks with two studio majors to provide 3D animation for a full length feature film.

For this, the company is evaluating two options - to either set up its own 3D studio or acquire an existing animation studio in Chennai.

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