‘Animation is bigger than live action.’‘We live in a post-racial world.’ ‘Disruptors never see the promised land.’Each statement of noted Hollywood creator and producer Adi Shankar, who has redefined adult animation, sets your mind thinking and tingling. You can only admire his confidence when he boasts, “The second season of Devil May Cry, which punched way beyond its weight, would be the best series of the year 2026, and not comfort food as second outings often turn out to be.”You can only gawk at his spunk when he professes that Hollywood is collapsing, needs saving by new guard like him and lists out a host of factors, including decline of star system which otherwise provided consistency to the US’s soft power.“Whoever controls the imagination through storytelling, controls the future of the species,” he says. To his counterparts in India, he has a pertinent piece of advice — “Go hyper local or hyper global.”By the way, he loved Dhurandhar and hails Anurag Kashyap, whose Gangs of Wasseypur he helped distribute overseas as “an auteur outside of the classic Bollywood ecosystem.”Adi’s Indian-ness makes him see the world differently and not merely in good vs evil kind of binaries. Rather often, as with Devil May Cry, he can suddenly flip perspectives and an antagonist could well be the protagonist. For instance in Season 1 of Devil May Cry, Episode 6 is entirely from the villain’s point of view.He creates fantastical worlds where race matters little. He says, “I have never looked at myself in terms of race, cultural background or nationality.” Hence, Adi has never been the quintessential outsider.In 2010s, when he broke into Hollywood, he might well have been a disruptor. Today, he views himself as an ‘establishment player’, who is ready to change the rules of the game.The first bias he knocks down is that animation is for children. He explains, “The older generation might think so, but Gen Alpha and Gen Z don’t subscribe to this opinion.”Born in Kolkata, raised in Hong Kong, adult anime fascinated him since childhood. In Hollywood, where he has produced films with big stars like Brad Pitt (Killing Them Softly) Liam Nesson (The Grey), he found his true calling in anime culture. Many of his anime series, including Castlevania: Nocturne, are adaptation of video games.“Control the controllable, and not the entire universe,” has always been his motto. Whether animation is the future of entertainment, he says, “It will be a future and not the be-all and end all.” Besides, who can really say what would click in times to come and what might just fade away. But social media, he feels, has certainly democratised the ways and means of entertainment. He reasons, “It has made movie stars less relevant and audience first. Netflix and YouTube have made it possible for more and more people to create and distribute content.”In fact, with his Bootleg Universe, a series of YouTube parody fan films of established media properties, is how he found his lane. Eyeing several IPs, hugely popular PUB G might figure on his radar too. To young Indians obsessed with video games his advice is, “Don’t just be a consumer, add to the conversation.”Just as he has transitioned from a fan to a creator with content at once hugely entertaining, satirical and illuminating.“In the first act of story” is how he might dub his own fruitful journey, Indian film industry, he observes, “has reached a watershed moment.”And all those who think India can’t do it, look at men like Adi for inspiration, ranked number 20 on 2014 GQ list of ‘Most Influential Global Indian Men.’ Only remember, “If you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to none,” as he puts in.