Mumbai: Taare Zameen Par was not only Aamir Khan's directorial debut, it was also the debut of clay-animation in Bollywood.

After dazzling the advertising world, clay animation has found its way to Bollywood as well.

Aamir Khan's directorial debut Taare Zameen Par was also Bollywood's first attempt at using claymation, clay-animation or animation created using clay. Animation Film Designer Dhimant Vyas who worked on the title sequence of Taare Zameen Par, gave way to his imagination even as he identified with Ishaan's character. Giving shape to clay and giving them an almost life like state is Vyas's forte and that's exactly why Aamir Khan took notice of claymation.

"Aamir wanted me to use animals for the imagination sequence and not humans,” says Dhimant Vyas.

Dhimant, a graduate from the National Institute of Design, heaves a sigh of relief as Bollywood is finally opening its doors to the world of animation, even as India continues to be a front-runner for outsourcing for major animation studios in Hollywood.

"Its nice that Bollywood is opening up to animation,” says Dhimant.