ET: DUBAI:
Would it make you proud if I told you that the Venom character in the Spiderman III movie was developed and animated by a Pakistani? How does it feel to know that a Pakistani animator worked on Hollywood blockbusters such as X-Men First Class, The Day After Tomorrow, Mummy, The Incredible Hulk, Land of The Lost, Surf’s Up and Ghost Rider? How does it feel to know that the same animator won an Oscar in 2008 for working on the winning sequences of The Golden Compass?
Feels great, doesn’t it? I felt the elation at a whole different level, as I came to know all this through a white man I met at the JFK airport when I was flying from New York to Chicago before Christmas last year.
I felt numb with pride when he told me about the exploits of Meer Zafar Ali, a graduate from FAST Karachi, the man who won that Oscar and accomplished the other animation feats mentioned above. Since that eventful chat, I have been gathering the bits and pieces of one of Pakistan’s most exciting untold stories. Though still in a nascent state if compared to the international market and even neighbouring India, the Pakistani animation industry nonetheless holds great value in itself.
Categories: Asia