Shantanu Maheshwari inspires young creators at Arena Animation’s Perspectives 2026 in Mumbai

Arena Animation, a pioneer in animation, gaming, visual effects, and digital media education and a training brand of Aptech Limited, successfully concluded the Mumbai edition of Perspectives 2026, its flagship annual industry engagement platform, bringing together over 1000 students, industry professionals, creative leaders and renowned personalities from the Media & Entertainment ecosystem.

Celebrating 30 years of creative excellence, this year's edition was built around the theme of inspiring the next generation of creative professionals by connecting them with real-world industry perspectives, emerging artificial intelligence (AI) powered creative workflows, emerging technologies and career opportunities within the rapidly evolving AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality) sector.

The event featured distinguished personalities including Dr.

Amit Behl, acclaimed actor and television personality, Mr.

Shantanu Maheshwari, a versatile actor, dancer and performer, Actor Aditya Deshmukh, a popular face across Marathi and Hindi entertainment, Mr.

Vaibhav More, Director, Designer & Animator who delivered a special session on AI in Animation & VFX, Mr.

Vineeth S, Country Manager – Media & Entertainment, Ark Infosolutions, along with Mr.

Sandip Weling, Whole-time Director & Chief Business Officer, Global Retail Business, Aptech Limited and Mr.

Shajan Samuel, Sr.

Vice President & National Sales Head- (Arena Animation), Aptech Limited.

The day-long event blended industry learning with immersive student experiences through keynote sessions, AI demonstrations, celebrity interactions and talent showcases, reinforcing Arena Animation's commitment to nurturing industry-ready creative professionals.

Students gained first-hand insights into the evolving creative economy, the growing influence of AI in content creation, emerging industry skill requirements and career opportunities across animation, VFX, gaming, digital design and filmmaking.

The celebrity interactions further inspired participants through personal stories of perseverance, career evolution and continuous learning.

Media & Entertainment Skills Council (MESC) collaborated as the Industry Partner and Huion as the Technology Partner for Perspectives 2026.