THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: "If I could be a cartoon character, I would prefer to be Jerry from the 'Tom and Jerry' cartoon series," said Uttam Pal Singh, head of Discovery Kids, of Discovery Communications which has been entertaining kids since 2012. "Jerry has always attracted me for his smart getaways from Tom," he said. Uttam was recently in the city to address the Animation Masters Summit organised by TOONZ media group.
Uttam said he discovered he had a creative bend when he was a child. "When I was in Class IV, I came across a flip book on a UGC programme aired in Doordarshan. I was motivated to make a flip book myself on a smiling man. I received a lot of appreciation from friends and family for my work," he said.
Hailing from a Saharanpur village in Utter Pradesh district, he says he wasn't aware of formal education on animation in India then. "Due to the lack of information regarding animation courses, I joined architecture. I worked in the industry for five years," he said. He wasn't ready to give up his interest in creative arts and later joined the National Institute of Design(NID). "The studies in NID changed my life," he said.
It was in NID, he came up with his first ever animation short film 'Bheeru no 1' along with two friends. "The short film made a great impact and also won the TOONZ media's best short film under comedy category in the year 2002. It was just the beginning and this motivated me further," said Uttam.
Uttam has over 18 years of experience from content development and design, to directing and producing award-winning shows and developing IPs for Kids Networks. He has worked with Cartoon Network, The Walt Disney, POGO, Channel, MTV, Star TV Leo Burnett and Ogilvy and Mather. He is the brain behind the success of Discovery Kids India, which has climbed from the 10th position to being number two.
Uttam is the executive producer of the cartoon 'Little Singham' on Discovery Kids which is presently a big hit among kids.
So, what is the secret behind making a good cartoon? "We need to think from their perspective. It isn't difficult as children's lives and thoughts are not as complex as ours. They like simplicity and a lot of colours," he said.
Uttam's daughter is a big motivation. "She is very inquisitive and asks about my job often. I simply switch on the television to show her my works. Now 'Little Singham' is her favourite cartoon. Watching her happiness is very encouraging," he said.