Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 1 :     Yama, the god of death, looks set for international stardom. He will play the lead in an animation film to be made by a major American studio which set up shop here today. Toonz Animation, the state-of-the-art US animation film company, is also eyeing other Indian elders for its star cast: the sages from Panchatantra and characters from the folktales of Assam. The animation company promises to explore India?s ?rich treasury of folklore? and market it for the world. Says Bill Dennis, former vice-president of Walt Disney?s feature animation division and founder and head of Toonz Animation: ?We will export the East to the West. For decades cartoons have been a one-way traffic of ideas from the US. We will go to the other side. In everything we do, we will see that we compete with the biggest and the best in the world.? He adds he is fascinated by Yama. The god of after life will feature in Vaidyan Shankunni, a film to be made by Toonz. The vaidyan is an ayurvedic doctor who finds Sanjeevani, the life-saving magic herb. He visits men on their death-beds with Sanjeevani, and like Popeye gulping down spinach, a dying man takes in the Sanjeevani to jump back into life. But with nobody dying, Yama, the CEO of the department of death, is out of work. He decides to steal the Sanjeevani from the doctor. An endless chase follows. Dennis, who was involved in the production of the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Alladin and The Little Mermaid, has already hired 50 artistes. ?India is the world?s largest motion picture industry, but animation here has not been taken to the level of its films. Yet the country has tremendous possibilities. Indian heritage, folklore, literature and mythology have grand stories the world is unaware of,? says Dennis. Besides, he adds, India provides an English-speaking workforce, right infrastructure, cheap labour and Kerala government subsidies, which lowers the production cost to 25 to 40 per cent lower than anywhere else around the globe. Apart from eyeing Indian myths and folktales, Toonz is also developing its own stories. One such is about Vasu, a Kerala boy who lives high on a hill by the sea. His house gets struck by lightning a bit too often and once electricity flows through him. Now Vasu, who loves a beautiful girl, cannot touch her for fear offer getting electrocuted. Located in the sprawling Techno Park campus, Toonz, with 20 workstations, is expected to double itself in 18 months. The film company, which already has signed the Hongkong-based Cartoon Network as client, is expected to produce its first feature film by 2002.