Glitzy, dazzling, multibillion-dollar Hollywood is keen on outsourcing animation work from Indian studios in a big way, says the producer of the blockbuster "Lord Of The Rings".

Barrie M. Osborne, who also produced "The Matrix", said here that he was in touch with some Indian studios working in the field of animation and digital special effects for undertaking specific works.

"We might collaborate with some of the Indian studios in the near future for doing digital visual effects and animation work," Osborne said.

Osborne, who is visiting India for the first time, however, declined to name the animation firms he was in discussion with.

"I think the talent is here. The artistry and rich cultural heritage of India offer a great opportunity for the Indian animation industry to work for Hollywood," Osborne affirmed.

Expressing the hope that full-length three dimensional (3D) animation films would be produced in India, Osborne said with the huge talent pool in the subcontinent it was possible for international productions to take work from them to produce great films.

According to industry estimates, the Indian animation sector has the potential to generate about $1.5 billion annually.

N. Madhusudhanan, the national award winner in the visual effects category for the Tamil film "Alavandan", said the Indian animation sector had the potential to replicate the success of the IT services sector.

"It will not be long before we can start seeing most of the Hollywood work moving to India. We have already started doing some work for Hollywood films," Madhusudhanan said.

Though Indian animation firms have the skill sets for visual or special effects, they lack the right direction.

"We are planning to hold a series of training workshops in digital visual effects to develop the talent pool under the guidance and supervision of Osborne," Madhusudhanan said.

Indian director Shekhar Kapur said he too is collaborating with Osborne on his new project "Paani", a movie set in Mumbai in the future with a theme about water becoming scarce and like a form of currency.

"It ('Paani') will highlight the Indian film industry at Hollywood like the 'Lord of the Rings' did for New Zealand. It will also show what can be achieved in India," Osborne pointed out.

"'Paani' is a great story. Kapur is a great scriptwriter. I love the story and its visuals. It has the quality to make it to the Academy awards," said Osborne, who is currently involved in Hollywood films like "Magnificent Fingers" and "The Alchemist".

Asked whether he would take up projects with other Indian film producers, Osborne said he chose his projects based on the strength of the script and if a script narrated to him was impressive he would love to work with Indian filmmakers.

"Working with Kapur for 'Paani' is a challenging task, as we have to envisage a situation in a futuristic period and make it entertaining at the same time," Osborne quipped.

On his knowledge about Bollywood films, Osborne said he had seen movies made by Kapur, Meera Nair and Satyajit Ray. "During my younger days, I saw Ray's films at different film festivals," he added.