Bhimsain

Considered as India's animation pioneer and avant-garde film maker, Bhimsain is one of the pioneers of parallel cinema movement in India of the 70s. Born in Multan (now Pakistan) in 1936, Bhimsain moved to Lucknow after the partition. Belonging to family of artists, he gravitated to arts and music early, studying fine arts and learning classical music which held him in good stead throughout his life. In 1961, Bhimsain moved to Mumbai after he secured a job at the monolith Films Division as background-painter. It is here that he learned the art and craft of animation film-making. In 1971, he became independent. His first animation short film "The Climb" won him the prestigious "Silver Hugo award" at the Chicago Film Festival. He christened his company Climb Films (now Climb Media) after the film's success. Since then there has been no looking back. "Ek Anek Ekta" (1974) is considered India's most popular animation short film. This was followed by path breaking feature films "Gharaonda" (1977) & "Dooriyaan" (1979) and many TV series and documentaries bringing him accolades and awards galore. Bhimsain has an unprecedented 16 President's National awards, several International awards and lifetime contribution awards by leading institutes and organizations.