MAM

Toonz Animation to use 2D, 3D animation for Hanuman

Published

23 years ago

June 11, 2003

MUMBAI: The three and a half year old Trivandrum based animation firm Toonz is looking to expand its content scope. With this in mind, it is using both 2D and 3D animation for its next series The Adventures of Hanuman. The show is expected to hit Indian airwaves next year.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the venture, Toonz Animation India president and CEO Bill Dennis said, ” Toonz has recently opened its own 3D department Digital Fantasy. They have landed a couple of substantial jobs and you are going to hear a lot about them in the near future. Also, our next series Adventures of Hanuman, is being done in 2D and 3D. It’ll be a great look. I think 3D will become very, very big in India. Already it is growing by leaps and bounds.”

As far as the distribution of Tenali Raman overseas is concerned Dennis pointed out that the series is being distributed for Toonz by Indigo Kids (United Kingdom). Since Toonz has just wrapped the final episode Indigo Kids has not yet had the entire series to market. However they are expecting two substantial contracts within the next couple of months, Dennis revealed.

Asked if Toonz gets a lot of outsourcing work to do from firms in the US, UK, Dennis said, “Toonz tries to balance its work content. We’re currently doing a lot of work in building our library (Tenali,Hanuman, Brady’s). However, we also take on jobs on a work for hire basis. In September, we begin production on an Australian project, which is strictly work for hire. Our studio in Mumbai concentrates on ad films and commercials. Naturally all of that work is work for hire.”

Meanwhile, in a bid to augment its revenue stream Toonz is looking to come out with a string of merchandise based on its series Tenali Raman. Dennis said, ” Toonz is working with two merchandise distributors on the Tenali Raman line. One is in London and the other in Singapore. We expect the line to include print in the form of comics, colouring books, activity books, clothing (tee shirts, hats, jeans) toys (plush and vinyl), video and DVD, CD’s of the music track. Some of this merchandise has already been developed. We plan to make them available across India beginning in October/November.”

Asked whether the company was satisfied with the response that Tenali Raman had received on Cartoon Network so far, Dennis said, ” The response to Tenali Raman has been exceptional. Cartoon Network has done a great job in promoting Tenali. They’re portraying him as one of their regular characters, alongside Popeye, Powerpuff Girls, Dexter etc. And, it seems to be working. We are getting letters and reports that Tenali is quickly becoming a favourite around the country.

“Tenali has been dubbed in Hindi, Malayalam, and the Tamil version is underway. In addition to Cartoon Network, it is now airing on Asianet. We plan to take Tenali to every state in every language.” Dennis said.

In addition, Toonz is developing a 52-episode animation series Brady’s Beasts. The series is expected to hit Indian airwaves sometime next year. Dennis had these remarks to make about the project. “Brady’s Beasts is very different from Tenali or Hanuman. Brady’s Beasts was not conceived at Toonz. We are a co-production partner in charge of the actual production of the series (52 episodes). Once it’s finished, we’ll own the series in Asia and India.”

On the events side Dennis said that Toonz was the primary backer of Week with the Masters Animation Celebration. The event brings top industry professionals from around the world to Trivandrum to show their films and hold discussions with Indian Animators and filmmakers. “This year it happens in the first week of November and we are expecting a slate of ten ‘masters’ ” Dennis said.

” We also sponsor the Children’s Animation Workshop. This is a great event in which we encourage children from around the country to submit their story ideas and character designs for consideration in making a cartoon. Last year we had several thousand entries and selected seven to produce their films. The seven came to our studio and worked alongside our artists in finalising the script, choosing the style, colour designs, character designs and music.

” In some cases they actually were the narrators for their film. Toonz then has a tie up with Cartoon Network to broadcast the films. We also send the films to compete around the world to film festivals. For last year’s films, we have already won six major awards from Europe and the United States.”
MUMBAI: The three and a half year old Trivandrum based animation firm Toonz is looking to expand its content scope. With this in mind, it is using both 2D and 3D animation for its next series The Adventures of Hanuman. The show is expected to hit Indian airwaves next year.

Related Topics:2D 3D animation animation Hanuman TOONZ

Up Next

Williams signs Budweiser to Formula 1 deal

Don't Miss

O&M launches new TVC for TI cycles’ ‘i bike’

Click to comment

Brands

Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

1 month ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.