Animation is a graphic representation of drawings to show movement within those drawings. A series of drawings are linked together to be photographed by a camera. The drawings are slightly changed between one individualized frame to the other so that when they are played back in rapid succession (24 frames per second) there appears to be seamless movement within the drawings. Animated cartoons are made using paper, celluloid, cardboard, pens, paints, brushes and erasers. Pictures of the characters are first drawn on paper. Every second of a finished film consists of 24 frames that requires 12 to 24 drawings to be drawn, based on the speed of movement, i.e. faster movements need more drawings while slower movements can be animated with less number of drawings. The difference between two successive frames is very negligible with just a slight variation in the posture. The animated drawings are filmed on a black and white film to check the smoothness of the movements. This is called a pencil test.

The backgrounds of animation film are painted on cardboard or celluloid with tempera, acrylic or oil paints. These painted backgrounds are projected as the landscapes in which the characters are moving. Backgrounds are usually made considerably larger than the picture format, and are referred to as ‘Pan backgrounds.'The drawings are copied onto transparent celluloid or plastic sheets, usually called ‘Cels,'so that the animated characters can be superimposed on the backgrounds. The lines are traced in ink and the colors are filled in on the reverse side of the ‘Cels'to get even colors, when viewed from the front. The filming is carried out on an ‘animation stand.'Sometimes the pictures are divided into various levels, separated by about 30cm or 12”. As the fore, middle and backgrounds of the landscape are at varying levels, it creates a 3-dimensional effect, specifically when the camera or background is moving.

Till the early 1990s, the Indian TV market had only one player, the state-owned Doordarshan, which offered various free-to-air channels across the country. Criticized for it's lackluster and politically influenced programming mix, Doordarshan flourished as regulatory guidelines prohibited the entry of private players. However, during the early 1990s Gulf war, Indian audiences got their first experience of quality programming with channels such as CNN being illegally aired. Things changed when the government allowed satellite channels to broadcast their programs. The Indian TV market was radically transformed as a plethora of channels entered the country. Beginning with Zee and Star networks, by 2002, there were around 200 channels in the country. Of the 70 million households and 400 million viewers, the C&S homes were only 24 million with 150 million viewers.
Indian TV channels offered programs falling in one or more of the following genres – film-based shows, serials, sports, music, game shows and news. This pattern was visible in almost all the regional language, Hindi, and English channels. There were a host of niche channels that offered programs based on religion, business, action, nature, and children's entertainment. General entertainment channels accounted for a majority of the viewership, and hence the highest advertising revenues. Despite the presence of a wide variety of channels, the Indian TV market remains a largely film-based one as it happens to be the most popular genre in the country. Competition was very intense in the industry and the fight for advertisement revenues and Television Rating Points (TRPs) was cut throat. Late 1990s onwards, a majority of the channels were opting to become pay channels from the free-to-air mode.