HYDERABAD: The Image Tower, which is aimed at making Telangana a one-stop shop for gaming and entertainment technology in South Asia, will be completed by the end of 2021.
IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao revealed this during the inaugural ceremony of the second IndiaJoy conclave for gaming, media and digital entertainment here on Wednesday. The ambitious Rs 1,000 crore Image Tower project will create employment and investment opportunities, he said.
Rama Rao also congratulated Hyderabad-based companies for their contribution to national and global blockbuster entertainment projects like Baahubali, Life of Pi and Magadheera. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said, “We plan to build the Image Tower over 16 lakh sq ft in the city that would help global giants with anything from animation to visual effects to gaming to motion capture technologies.”
“With this project, we seek to provide employment to those residing in tier-2 and tier-3 towns. We are easing the policy to encourage more firms to set up shop in the State. Our main goal through such events is to help SMEs in this space flourish and also ring in more publishers, marketeers, local producers and help them find their feet in Telangana,” he said.
Quoting anecdotes from his personal life, Rama Rao also spoke about the nature of ‘binge watching’ and the scope of Over The Top (OTT) media platforms such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Voot. “As per research, the animation industry is a USD 270 billion market which has taken a huge leap with technological advancements over the years. It’s important to make localised animation content and usher in regional content for OTT platforms because the market potential is huge,” the IT and Industries minister said.
Owing to the rising scope in terms of both revenue and investment, Rao also stressed on making Telangana a hub for the South Asian entertainment industry with world-class technicians, post-production facilities and VFX setup. “VFX, post-production work for Hollywood movies and something like our very own Chota Bheem is done within the State. Besides, we are happy that the State houses over 250 gaming startups and the number is only growing with time. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is into the gaming sector,” he added.
Rising Telugu OTT content thrills experts
Digital entertainment industry experts are looking at the exponential rise in the Telugu OTT platforms and content as a new opportunity for revenue and audience generation. Producer Allu Arvind said, “OTT platforms are the new medium, and the big giants are still learning as the medium is still evolving. I personally am binge watching the content and getting new recommendations every day. I think OTT and films will learn to coexist.” Vijay Subramaniam, director and content head, Amazon Prime Video, said, “We are bringing out compelling stories via OTT platform. However, new opportunities cannot be generated without the traditional industry and content creators”