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  • Here are the winners of the second edition of Ann Awards

    Here are the winners of the second edition of Ann Awards

    Mumbai: On 17 July, Animation Xpress concluded the second edition of KAM Kids Animation & More summit that successfully brought together all the stakeholders of the animation space from all across the globe. The summit was followed by a grand award ceremony titled the ANN Awards 2021 where the best talents in the world of animation were honoured and recognised for their artistry and creativity.

    KAM Summit and ANN awards were presented by Nick and co-powered by Cosmos-Maya, Unreal-Engine and Discovery Kids. YOTTA served as the workstation partner and OTT service partner whereas Green Gold Animation was the summit partner. ABAI promoting Centre of Excellence (COE) were the associate partners and the event was supported by in10 Media – GUBBARE and HUION. Tokyo-based TBS’ Digicon6 Asia was the festival partner and ASIFA India was the community partner.

    Animators, studios, and individuals from institutes participated across 66 categories, setting a benchmark in the animation space. Over 300 artists were judged by a well-qualified 10-member jury through an online mechanism. The jurors were Vidit Kundra, Shilpa Ranade, Yoshiya Ayugai, Sekhar Mukherjee, Joan Vogelesang, Indrajit Nattoji, Anil Wanvari, Vivek Ram, Jack Liang, Dhimant Vyas.

    The winners will receive the Ann Awards trophy along with digital certificates.

    This year to honour the creative genius and champion of Indian animation industry, the late Arnab Chaudhuri, AnimationXpress introduced a new recognition, ‘The Arnab Chaudhuri Director’s Award’. To select the winners, an Awards Committee was put in place that consisted of people who have been associated with Arnab and understood his philosophies- Vaibhav Kumaresh, Ashish Kulkarni, Pete Bishop, Orion Ross, P Jayakumar, Prakash Moorthy, Hari Varma, Anil Wanvari and Ashima Avasthi.

    The winning student director under ‘The Arnab Chaudhuri Young Ace Award – Short Form content’ will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 15,001 and the winner of ‘The Arnab Chaudhuri Young Ace Award – Long fort Form content’ will be awarded with Rs 33,001. The cash prize is a joint contribution from Ashima Avasthi, Vaibhav Kumaresh and AnimationXpress. The winners will also receive a digital tablet from our support partner HUION. 

    Here’s the list of Ann Awards nominations and winners:

    PROGRAMMING

    Best Preschool Show

    ·  Mighty Little Bheem episode – A Royal Festival of Colors (Green Gold Animation)

    Best Channel Packaging

    ·  Warner Media India – Pogo Festive Packaging

    Best Promo

    ·  Kaal ka badla (Discovery Kids India)

    ·  Kris Live Action Sport (Warner Media India – Pogo)

    ·  Kris Live Action Stationary (Warner Media India – Pogo)

    ·  Toons ki barish (Warner Media India – Cartoon Network)

    ·  What’s Your Summer Plan (Sony Pictures Networks India)

    Best 2D Animated Series

    ·  Abhimanyu (Toonz Media Group)

    ·  Ting Tong as Inventor (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)

    ·  Chhota Bheem Episode – Shrunken Kids (Green Gold Animation)

    ·  Fukrey Boyzzz: Vanaar Sena (Discovery Kids India)

    ·  Titoo (Cosmos-Maya)

    Best 3D animated series

    ·  Bhoot Bandhus Family Tree & Bhoot Bandhus Magic Show (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)

    ·  Rudra – Race to the mountain (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)

    ·  Bablu Dablu: Monster Plan (One Take Media)

    ·  Motu Patlu (Cosmos-Maya)

    ·  KickO and Super Speedo (Sony Pictures Networks India)

    Best Animated Film

    ·  Fatak Patak – Sheru Ban Gaya Champion (Nihodo Media)

    ·  Rudra – The Land of Nowhere (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)

    ·  Bheem In The City (Green Gold Animation)

    ·  Little Singham : Kaal ki Shatir Chaal (Discovery Kids India)

    ·  Little Singham: Future mein Satakli (Discovery Kids India)

    Best Animated Short Film

    ·  Ting Tong as Kungfu Dancer (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)

    ·  Jungle Mangal (Saggitive TechnoCreative Solutions)

    ·  Lamput – Transfer Gun (Warner Media India)

    Best Music Composer

    ·  Har Task with a Mask (Warner Media India)

    ·  Move it Like the Animals (YoBoHo Digital Content)

    ·  Kicko and Super Speedo vs Benaam Who (Sony Pictures Networks India)

    Best Remotely Produced Content

    ·  Bheega Diya na (Warner Media India)

    ·  We for the World (Warner Media India – Pogo)

    ·  Momo and Tulus (YoBoHo Digital Content)

     

    DIGITAL/ OTT AWARDS

    Best Animated Film

    ·  Bombay Rose (Paperboat Design Studios)

    ·  Titoo Ambulance (Warner Media India – Pogo)

    ·  Christmas Ident (Warner Media India – Pogo)

    ·  Simmba Biker Gang (Warner Media India – Pogo)

    Best Animated Digital Series

    ·  Gummy Bear & Friends (Toonz Media Group)

    ·  Mighty Little Bheem Episode – Come Out and Play (Green Gold Animation)

    Best Animated Music Video

    ·  The Fortune & Julia Nem – Lost (Kiran Venugopalan)

    ·  Titoo aisa kyun hain? (Warner Media India)

    ·  Har task with a mask (Warner Media India – Pogo)

    Best Remotely Produced content

    ·  Toons ki barish (Warner Media India – Cartoon Network)

    Best Animated Social Media Brand

    ·  Cosmos-Maya WowKidz

    Best Reels

    ·  Pixoury Media

     

    TECHNICAL AWARDS

    Best Title Design

    ·  Fukrey Boyzzz: Vaanar Sena (Discovery Kids India)

    Best Title Song

    ·  Keymon Ache (Viacom18 – Nickelodeon)

    ·  Hope Song – Phhir Dil Bolega YAY! (Sony Pictures Networks India)

    ·  Honey Bunny ka Jholmaal title song (Sony Pictures Networks India)

    Best Editing in an Animated TV Series

    ·  Motu Patlu (Cosmos-Maya)

    Best Editing in an Animated Film

    ·  Fatak Patak – Sheru Ka World Tour (Nihodo Media)

    ·  Fatak Patak – Sheru Aur Masti Ki Pathshala (Nihodo Media)

    ·  Honey Bunny in Ghost Palace (Sony Pictures Networks India)

    Best Editing in an Animated Digital Series

    ·  Momo and Tulus (YoBoHo Digital Content)

    ·  Ace2Three Rummy (Skill Tool Studio)

    Best Director of an Animated TV series

    ·  Toonz Media Group
    Chacha Chaudhary

    ·  Cosmos-Maya
    Selfie With Bajrangi

    ·  Cosmos-Maya
    Motu Patlu

     

    Technical Awards

    Best Director of an Animated Film

    ·  A THEOREM (AK RAPOLU THEOREM)
    DHIRA

    Best Director of a Digital Series

    ·  Skill Tool Studio
    Ace2Three Rummy

    Best Screenplay

    ·  Fatak Patak – Sheru Ka World Tour (Nihodo Media)

    ·  Fatak Patak – Sheru Ban Gaya Champion (Nihodo Media)

    ·  Honey Bunny and Super Car Race (Sony Pictures Networks India)

    Best Character Design

    ·  Tiger in Jungle Mangal (Saggitive TechnoCreative Solutions)

    ·  Gadget Guru Ganesha (Cosmos-Maya)

    ·  Bapu (Cosmos-Maya)

    Best Character Animation

    ·  One Take Media Bablu
    Dablu: Monster Plan

    Best Voice Over Artist for a TV series – Male

    ·  Sony Pictures Networks India
    Honey Bunny Ka Jholmaal

    Best Voice Over Artist for a Digital series – Female

    ·  YoBoHo Digital Content Build
    A Childrens Playground

    Best Technical Innovation

    ·  A THEOREM (AK RAPOLU THEOREM)

    DHIRA

    L&M (Licensing & Merchandising) Awards

    Best Animated Character Merchandise

    ·  Chhota Bheem Saregama Carvaan Mini (Green Gold Animation)

    Best Animated Series Merchandise

    ·  Fatak Patak (Nihodo Media)

    Best Licensed Animated Character Programme

    ·  Chhota Bheem (Green Gold Animation)

    Best Licensed Animated Series Programme

    ·  Bablu Dablu: Snow Daze (One Take Media)

    Best use of Leveraging a Character for Brand Marketing

    ·  Chhota Bheem Jelimal Candies (Green Gold Animation)

     

    MAM (Media, Advertising and Marketing) Awards

    Best Animated Brand Film

    ·  Air India Animated Brand Films (ARTHA Animation)

    ·  Ace2Three Rummy (Skill Tool Studio)

    ·  TRAQ by Titan (Paperboat Design Studio)

    Best Digital Campaign for an Animated Series

    ·  Fukreyy Boyzzz Launch (Discovery Kids India)

    ·  Kaal ki Shatir Chaal (Discovery Kids India)

    ·  Ace2Three Rummy (Skill Tool Studio)

    Best use of Animated Character in a Brand TVC

    ·  Air India Animated Brand Advertisements (ARTHA Animation)

    Best Experiential Marketing

    ·  School Contact Programme (Discovery Kids India)

    Best Brand Collaboration

    ·  Fukrey Boyzzz x Britannia Krunch (Discovery Kids India)

    Best Innovative Campaign

    ·  SuperHero Academy (Discovery Kids India)

     

    Student Awards

    Best Student 3D Film

    ·  Deep Trouble (MAAC Andheri – Mumbai)

    ·  Let’s Go (MAAC South Extension – New Delhi)

    ·  BOOND (MAAC Malad – Mumbai)

    Best Student 2D film

    ·  Story of a Beginning
    Balaram J (National Institute of Design)

    ·  Water Pollution
    Vishnu Balal (UNESCO H2Ooooh! – Waterwise Program 2021 by Toonz Media Group)

    ·  Blinding Lights Music Video
    Dhruv Dhindale, Sakshi Singh & Aman Singh (DICE VFS)

     

    SPECIAL AWARDS

    Best Animator – Female

    ·  Meera Latkar (Warner Media India – POGO)
    Bheega diya naa

    Best Animator – Male

    ·  Mukund Bhaleghare (Skill Tool Studio)
    ACE2THREE Rummy

    Best Indie Studio

    ·  Paperboat Design Studios

    Young Animator of the Year

    ·  Balaram J (National Institute of Design)
    Story of a Beginning

    Best Animated Music Video

    ·  Jazyl Homavazir & Amandeep Singh
    Homeless Homeboy Animated Opening

    ·  YoBoHo Digital Content
    Move it Like the Animals

    ·  Discovery Kids India
    Little Singham: Kaal ki shatir Chaal

    ·  Kiran Venugopalan & Aishwarya Manoj Mankar
    The Fortune & Julia Nem – Lost

    Best Bollywood inspired animated IP

    ·  Fukrey Boyzzz (Discovery Kids India)

    Best use of animation in a public service message nominee

    ·  Pollution Control Day 2020 (Digitalclay Studios)

    ·  Mumbai Police Parivaar (ARTHA Animation)

    ·  Fukrey Boyzzz: Swag wali Diwali (Discovery Kids India)

    Best Syndicated Content  

    ·  Bablu Dablu: Sunsational Summer (One Take Media)

     

    EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS

    Best 3D Series Overall- TV and OTT

    ·  Mondo Yan (Toonz Media Group)

    ·  Mighty Little Bheem Episode – A Flower For Mom (Green Gold Animation)

     

    Most Expansive Studio of the Year
    Cosmos-Maya

    The Arnab Chaudhuri Director’s Award

    The Arnab Chaudhuri Young ACE Award – Short Form

    ·  Notun Fasal (New Harvest)
    Sovan Dutta (SRFTI)

    The Arnab Chaudhuri Young ACE Award – Long Form

    ·  Story of a Beginning
    Balaram J (National Institute of Design)

    The Arnab Chaudhuri Animation ACE Award

    ·  Chandra’s Cafe
    Krishna Chandran A. Nair

  • Cosmos-Maya launches new title song for animated series ‘Selfie With Bajrangi’

    Cosmos-Maya launches new title song for animated series ‘Selfie With Bajrangi’

    Mumbai: Animation company Cosmos-Maya has released a brand-new title audio signature for its show “Selfie With Bajrangi” (SWB). The show is awaiting the release of its next season, and the makers celebrated the creative transition of the series with all-new earworms in Tamil and Telugu – penned and composed by music industry veterans Sameer Anjaan and Raju Singh respectively – with popular Bollywood singer Shaan humming the Hindi version of the tune.

    The show which has already released over a massive 300 episodes within four years, is a successful Cosmos-Maya IP currently ruling the rating chart. It chronicles the adventures of a nine-year-old boy Ankush and his special friendship with the mystical kid Bajrangi who looks like and possesses powers like Lord Hanuman and is invisible to everyone except the protagonist.

    “SWB has very organically grown as a brand to become a kids’ favourite among homegrown Indian animated shows, owing to its light, friendly elements and fun environment,” Cosmos-Maya’s founder Ketan Mehta said. “Every young kid has sought to have a divine friend like Bajrangi, who understands him and sticks around with him through thick and thin, helping him out through the most impossible situations. SWB taps into the creative gene pool and the innate cultural intricacies of Indian storytelling, which is one of the reasons this show has worked very well with today’s kids and families alike, because even our audience’s parents approve of such contemporary role models, and their quirky style of emotive, educative and entertaining storytelling. The new title song by Shaan, Sameer, and Raju reflects everything great about this beautiful relationship between Ankush, Bajrangi, and our viewers.”

    Cosmos-Maya’s CEO Anish Mehta said, “SWB is geared to grow as a full-bodied 360-degree IP with its reach across online and offline business avenues, to eventually become a valuable asset for partner brands to connect with. We already have ongoing collaboration discussions with multiple brands in the ed-tech, e-commerce, and the licensing and merchandising space, especially toys and kids apparel. The show has the makings of a flagship cartoon series and our studio and channel partners are working closely to get it there.”

    Cosmos-Maya’s chief creative officer and creative director of the show Dheeraj Berry said, “Ankush aur Bajrangi dono hain number 1 – this hook of the song works wonderfully to capture the essence of our two characters’ relationship, as well as the love kids, have for them. The song heralds the arrival of the next season of Selfie With Bajrangi with the festive fervour and fanfare that the show deserves, and also celebrates the audience who watches this show and makes it one of the top shows on Indian kids TV. The upcoming season will have more diverse narratives than ever before with multiple creative theme buckets taking our characters across multiple geographies within India, exploring newer avatars across new episode genres, and crossovers with other uber-popular characters from parallel kids’ favourite shows from Cosmos-Maya.”

    Commenting on his collaboration with SWB and the ability to reach so many young minds, the singer said, “I have a soft spot for animated series, especially kids’ cartoons and that’s what brings me on board for another one with Cosmos-Maya for the latest season of SWB. The added incentive, of course, was to work with the legendary Sameer Ji and the super talented Raju Singh. I had a great time recording this new title track for this amazing hit show, it’s catchy and fun and I am confident that the kids will fall in love with the energetic new tune.”

  • NewQuest buys out Emerald Media’s majority stake in Cosmos-Maya

    Mumbai: Indian animation major Cosmos-Maya on Monday announced that Hong Kong-based  NewQuest Capital Partners (NewQuest) has acquired a majority interest in it from Emerald Media, an investment platform backed by KKR. The company has not disclosed the terms of the transaction, but The Economic Times reported that the deal values the Ketan and Deepa Mehta promoted studio at $90 million.

    Having gained significant market share in India, the animation company is aggressively expanding its operations in the western markets producing several successful TV series, shows, and independent feature films for leading platforms in Europe and the US. The company has also become one of the largest providers of animated content to leading edtech players in India and the US.

    Said Ketan Mehta:  “Cosmos-Maya has had a phenomenal journey of 25 years in animation and has grown by leaps and bounds during this period. The partnership with Emerald Media heralded a strong growth era for us. I am very happy that we are now getting a partner in NewQuest. The partnership marks yet another important chapter in the global journey of our studio, which is poised for accelerated growth.”

    “Cosmos-Maya has been one of the most dynamic companies in this segment with a remarkable growth trajectory, ” said  NewQuest partner &  head of India &  southeast Asia Amit Gupta.  “With a portfolio of over 20 IPs and a highly talented team, we strongly believe that Cosmos-Maya is exceptionally well placed to consolidate its leadership position in the segment.”

    “We are privileged to have worked closely with Ketan and Anish (Mehta- the current CEO of Cosmos Maya)  over the years to support Cosmos-Maya’s journey in becoming a leading animation studio in India and the wider region,”  said  Emerald Media  MD Rajesh Kamat. “Emerald Media  has leveraged our industry expertise and the strength of our platform to help the company establish a solid foundation to expand its footprint in India and across the globe. Cosmos-Maya has shown a robust growth trajectory on the back of its creative and innovative IPs through the years, and we are confident that the company will continue its success in the future with NewQuest.”

    “This is a new and interesting chapter for us as we look at larger markets and newer challenges,”  said Anish Mehta. “Emerald Media has been a great support in our growth story and now this investment from another great investor like NewQuest is a testament to our market leadership and strong operating performance. We are excited to bring NewQuest on board as we embark on our next growth phase to become a fully integrated, global animation production and distribution company. Their experience, network, and industry knowledge will help supercharge our growth, organically and through strategic acquisitions.”

    GCA acted as an exclusive financial advisor to Cosmos-Maya and its shareholders. SNG & Partners and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas acted as legal advisors, and EY and BDO acted as due diligence and transaction tax advisors.

    The Economic Times reported that Emerald Media’s exit gave it a 3X-4X ret return on its investment it made in Cosmos-Maya in 2018. Today the latter is producing anywhere between 18-20 animation shows for local and international broadcast networks; some of which are being co-produced.

  • Bollywood should explore superhero films with long-term licensing: Cosmos-Maya’s Anish Mehta

    Mumbai: Anish JS Mehta started his career as an accounts executive in 2003, and over time, he has managed to reach new heights. In 2010, he became the chief operating officer of Cosmos-Maya, a leading animation studio in India. Two years later, Mehta was promoted as the chief executive officer (CEO) and since then, he has been a key player in the Indian animation industry catalysing the production of noted anime shows that include the iconic Motu Patlu. 

    Cosmos-Maya has recently launched Salman Khan’s Dabang as an animation series Dabanng-The Animated Series, which is now available for streaming on Disney+Hotstar VIP, in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. This animated series is also being streamed on Cartoon Network. 

    As the series receives rave reviews from audiences and critics, Indiantelevision.com’s Nirmal Narayanan got into a conversation with Cosmos Maya CEO Anish JS Mehta to track the journey of Cosmos Maya in creating the animated avatar of Chulbul Pandey, and the future of the animation industry in India. 

    Edited Excerpts

    On collaborating with Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan for Dabanng-The Animated Series

    Dabangg-The Animated Series is one of the biggest film franchise extensions executed for Indian TV. We have released the show with CartoonNetwork as our TV broadcast partner and Disney+Hotstar as our streaming partner. Since the start of the pandemic, we have been working to create more original animated content titles in greater volumes to suit the increased consumption by kids staying at home. We spoke to Arbaaz Khan the owner of the franchise and created our vision of the animated series. Both the channel partners loved the concept and provided the backing to bring the show before the audience.

    On the audience response to the series

    It’s been a week since the series went live on TV and OTT, and we have received a great response to the characters and their new colourful world. There has been a decent amount of buzz, especially within the franchise’s existing fanbase, and it’s been liked by kids and their families alike. We have also been getting a lot of queries for the licensing & merchandising extension for Dabangg across the categories such as gaming, Apparel, Toys & Promotional licensing. We have some exciting associations lined up. 

    On choosing a character like Chulbul Pandey 

    The Dabangg series and its lead Chulbul Pandey has been a mega-franchise in India for the past 11 years and adapting the super cop to a kids’ format was a creative challenge, but it was also a fun opportunity. But, the principal challenge was to do justice to the source material. When we are adapting a pre-existing template into a new look, we need to capture the quirks and the idiosyncrasies of the characters as they were originally brought to life by their actors and filmmakers. Also, Dabangg is one of the few Indian animated shows to feature the same adult version of the lead character, unlike most series that go with a child-like avatar of their source character. Our creative team captured the likeness and the ticks of not just Chulbul but also his entire posse including Makhi, Rajjo, and Tiwariji. 

    On the future of animated series on OTT platforms

    The industry is witnessing growth on every platform and across a plethora of genres. The genre has a consistently growing presence on domestic TV, and with the OTT boom during the past few years, animation producers have utilized the mutual coexistence model, where the content releases with a TV and OTT partner simultaneously. Pay-TV usually works on a volume and sequential storytelling system, especially in areas with lesser internet penetration, and OTT audiences get to watch and choose and binge the episodes in their time and convenience. Balancing and blending the show’s presence on both formats was a creative challenge in itself.

    On creating an Indian animated superhero for global audience

    We have a bevy of superheroes from the Indian film and comic book ecosystem that have immense business potential to emerge as individual franchises. However, most commercial Indian films have audiences, which is used to their regular film heroes having superhero status. Until Bollywood decides to venture into superhero flicks with a long-term licensing and merchandising plan, we should not expect any such projects out of India in the foreseeable future.

    On the impact of Covid pandemic on the animation industry

    We had over a year to synergize our work processes from home, and it worked out. We have released seven new shows since April 2020. The animation industry collectively did not face a severe impact, like the live-action entertainment industry. The entire team at Cosmos-Maya adapted to the status quo extremely well which helped us to accelerate the workforce like before and pace up the production to deliver content on time.

  • Salman Khan’s Dabangg-The Animated Series on Disney+Hotstar

    Salman Khan’s Dabangg-The Animated Series on Disney+Hotstar

    Mumbai: Superstar Salman Khan’s iconic character Chulbul Pandey in the Dabangg franchise has now made its grand return to the television screen with Dabangg-The Animated series. The first eight episodes of this animated series are now available for streaming on Disney+Hotstar VIP, in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. 

    An adaptation and reimagination of the blockbuster Bollywood franchise, the action-comedy series chronicles the day-to-day life of police officer Chulbul Pandey, who faces up to evil to keep the city safe. Pandey is now joined by his younger brother Makkhi, also a police officer.  

    Produced by Cosmos-Maya and Arbaaz Khan Productions, Dabangg – The Animated Series marks the latest addition in an extensive collection of kids’ content that ranges from all-time favourites like Toy Story, Doraemon, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Sound of Music, to contemporary super hits including, Selfie With Bajrangi, Chacha Chaudhary and Sofia the First. 

    To ensure a safe, entertaining, and controlled experience, parents can navigate through the platform’s unique kids-safe mode to access age-appropriate content. 

    Speaking about the return of Chulbul Pandey, Salman Khan said, “I couldn’t be happier that Chulbul, Makkhi, and Rajjo are returning in animated avatars to entertain the children of our country. I cannot wait to binge-watch all episodes of Dabangg – The Animated Series with my nieces and nephews while at home. Animation has opened up yet another dimension for this character and I’m thrilled Cosmos-Maya did that. I hope that all children, along with their families, take time out and enjoy watching this together.” 

    “Dabangg, for me, goes beyond just a film or a franchise; and to see it coming to life in an all-new format is overwhelming and we were on board with the idea, the moment we met team Cosmos-Maya. They have revolutionized Indian animation & I couldn’t have asked for a better animation studio partner for our Dabangg. I’m happy to have collaborated with Disney+ Hotstar VIP to bring kids and their parents all episodes of this fun and entertaining series that they can watch at their convenience, from the safety of their homes,” said Dabangg producer Arbaaz Khan. 

    “Audiences of all ages love Salman Khan, and we’re delighted to be bringing his iconic character and movie in a form that can be enjoyed by kids and their families. Time spent indoors can be made entertaining with this latest series along with engaging offerings like the new season of the popular show, Selfie with Bajrangi, successful Disney titles and much more. We have had a wonderful collaboration with Cosmos-Maya and are happy to further build this with a blockbuster Bollywood franchise reimagined in a creative yet entertaining manner,” said the Disney spokesperson. 

    Cosmos-Maya CEO Anish Mehta said, Dabangg is a landmark IP launch for Cosmos-Maya as it marks the 10th year of original Indian IP creation. “We are privileged to have such an iconic franchise which fits in the Cosmos-Maya formula of ‘familiarity with novelty’. We couldn’t have asked for a bigger & better character for our 20th show, than my personal favourite, the cult icon Chulbul Pandey who has been immortalized by Salman Khan, while working beside Arbaaz Khan and a fabulous platform partner like Disney+ Hotstar VIP,” he said.

  • Cosmos-Maya partners with Disney India for Dr. Tenali Rama HMKD

    Cosmos-Maya partners with Disney India for Dr. Tenali Rama HMKD

    Mumbai: Indian animation studio Cosmos-Maya is preparing to launch its brand-new IP, Dr Tenali Rama HMKD, and has partnered with Disney India  to air the show on pay TV soon in mid-2021.

    The show commenced production in 2020 as part of an extensive launch plan of new shows for 2021, where the studio will see four to five new IPs coming out in both the TV and OTT space.

    DTR is a new show by Cosmos-Maya’s creative team behind Titoo. It is an ode to the doctors and medical professionals, chronicling the life and daily shenanigans of Tenali, a nine-year-old child genius and qualified doctor running his family’s hospital started by his Hindi-loving grandfather Dr Murlidharan. Just like his namesake, he meets people and provides them solutions to their unique ailments and problems with his sharp wit and problem-solving abilities.

    Providing familiarity with novelty in Cosmos-Maya style, DTR takes us on a journey with this medical avatar of the age-old brainiac Tenali Rama, who uses his extraordinary intelligence and wit to help people with their problems. This is captured in his medical title, HMKD – Har Marz Ki Dawa.

    His uncle and adversary, Dr Murgan wants to own the hospital and tries to constantly prove that he is a better doctor than Tenali, but never succeeds.

    DTR is another offering from Cosmos-Maya’s mission statement to provide meaningful entertainment for young kids aged four to 11 years old, that also promotes in them industriousness, social values and purpose, in a fun and engaging way. The show’s relatable storylines are fun and entertaining, and children will be able to easily decode medical concepts. The show celebrates unity in diversity with an array of characters from different cultures of the world.

    Cosmos-Maya  CEO Anish Mehta said, “DTR is an amalgamation of multiple types that define us Indians – he is a quick-witted, capable, jugaadu nine-year old kid and an NRI doctor in London, who lives and works with his extended family. We aim to inspire kids to make the best use of their wits and skills to give back and help people and inspire them to look up to the people of the medical industry. The show holds relatability for other family members as well who’ll laugh along to the cultural idiosyncrasies of an Indian family residing abroad. This is the USP of the show as this is a plot point which no Indian animated series has explored in the past. We have quite a few new shows lined up for a 2021 release with Disney India, and we will see DTR obtain the perfect reach on their network. We have the next seasons of Bapu, Gadget Guru Ganesha and Selfie With Bajrangi undergoing production simultaneously and we see a chunk of business with our partners at Disney India.”

  • Cosmos-Maya’s Wow Kidz partners with publishing house Twinkl

    Cosmos-Maya’s Wow Kidz partners with publishing house Twinkl

    MUMBAI: Cosmos-Maya kids’ animation brand Wow Kidz has partnered with educational publisher Twinkl to create a range of educational materials and resources based on Vir: The Robot Boy.

    The new jointly-created teaching resources aim to inspire children and engage them in learning by featuring one of India’s favourite cartoon robots, Vir The Robot Boy. The animated superhero character, owned by Cosmos-Maya, is also much-loved around the world, with the series of the same name now streaming on over 50 digital video platforms worldwide.

    Twinkl is one of the world’s largest educational providers, offering over 710,000 resources to over 10 million teachers, parents and carers around the world. The UK-based company provides a wide range of materials from assessments and activity sheets to educational games and crafts, with resources available to use in the classroom and at home.

    Wow Kidz is a market leader in the Indian animation sector and is part of the India and Singapore based cartoon studio, Cosmos-Maya. Its YouTube multi-channel network has content from over 17 of its own titles in addition to nearly 15 acquired titles in 18 languages over 34 channels. The brand has over 60 million subscribers on YouTube with Vir The Robot Boy as its best performing IP, with 13 billion views of its own and contributing nearly 40 per cent of the multi-channel network’s gross viewership.

    Children can indulge in their love of Vir: The Robot Boy whilst developing skills in a wide range of topics that are suitable for children aged three to eleven years old. Covering subjects including literacy and art, the resources on Twinkl include activities such as sentence formations, creative writing prompts and colouring sheets. The educational materials are free to use and accessible to everyone through the Twinkl website.

    Wow Kidz’s parent company Cosmos-Maya CEO Anish Mehta said: “With schools closing down at the start of the lockdowns around the world in April 2020, the EdTech sector saw an unprecedented boost with online coaching modules that provided immense business opportunities for animation studios beyond the standard entertainment space. Entering this collaboration with Twinkl, we get to marry two booming segments of our company – merchandising and EdTech – while entering a mutually beneficial partnership from multiple standpoints: customer retention, brand and revenue potential.”

    Cosmos-Maya has been making strides in all possible avenues of the animation spectrum, and EdTech is the company’s youngest and fastest-growing division and is expected to account for 20 per cent+ of production revenues for FY 2022E.

    Cosmos-Maya edtech & gaming SVP of L&M Priti Karandikar added: “The key advantage of mixing entertainment in education is that it leads to creating genuine interest in the students towards acquiring knowledge. Well-known animated characters are extremely popular and can act as ‘Study Buddies’ – entertaining and cheerful contact points for learning without taking away the primary learning objective. These ‘Study Buddies’ make topics easy to memorize, by making them into stories with multiple perspectives.”

    Twinkl International Head Neil Cleverly said: “At Twinkl, we’re always asking ourselves how we can pique the interest of children and use this to engage them in learning. Through our partnership with Wow Kidz and Cosmos-Maya, we have been able to do exactly that.

    “The vibrant and imaginative animations that they are renowned for have enabled us to bring learning to life, all while providing valuable teaching tools for teachers, parents and carers. We know that these Vir: The Robot Boy resources are going to be a big hit with children right across India, as well as around the world.”

    Services and resources from Twinkl with the Wow Kidz brand will go live in India in the last week of March 2021.

  • Cosmos-Maya’s Wow Kidz Action awarded YouTube diamond play button

    Cosmos-Maya’s Wow Kidz Action awarded YouTube diamond play button

    MUMBAI: Wow Kidz, the content distribution wing of Cosmos-Maya has been awarded a rare second diamond play button, a YouTube creator award bestowed on channels for crossing ten million subscribers. Wow Kidz Action joins its sister channel, Wow Kidz, in winning the coveted accolade and with this new award, Wow Kidz’s multi-channel network has a total of 38 YouTube Creator Awards to its name – 25 Silver, 11 Gold and two diamond buttons.

    The Wow Kidz Action channel has seen immense growth in just over three years, hitting 30 billion views across its collection of homegrown and internationally acquired titles, including Vir: The Robot Boy, Rollbots, Hotwheels, Robinhood, Gattu The Power Champ and Gormiti.

    Cosmos Maya CEO Anish Mehta said: “The Wow Kidz brand growth on YouTube has been spurred by the increased global internet usage among families during lockdown. It has seen a meteoric growth in revenue potential across nearly 160 countries around the world and increased the number of acquisition partnerships and gross and repeat viewership. Having two Diamond Play buttons in the same MCN is a rare achievement. A genre-specific channel within our MCN getting such an award solidifies the strength of our diverse offering ranging across geogrpahies, languages and genres across YouTube, and is testimony to how we’ve kept our finger on the pulse of audience tastes. We are extremely proud of these accolades.”

    Wow Kidz’ multi-channel YouTube network is home to over 20,000 videos of owned and third-party animated content, spanning genres including comedy, edutainment, nursery rhymes and action. Across the 34 channels in 18 languages, Wow Kidz has over 60 million total subscribers.

    Wow Kidz is known for its superhit kids shows like Motu Patlu, Selfie With Bajrangi, Eena Meena Deeka and Vir: The Robot Boy, which alone has over 13 billion views on YouTube.  

  • Cosmos-Maya starts 2021 with new seasons of hit shows

    Cosmos-Maya starts 2021 with new seasons of hit shows

    MUMBAI: It’s just the second week of the new year, and animation studio Cosmos-Maya is already looking to outperform its own stellar run in 2020.

    By mid-2021, among a bevy of numerous upcoming projects, the studio plans to release second seasons of audience favourites Titoo, Gadget Guru Ganesha (GGG) and Bapu. The former two have reached this milestone merely six months into their preliminary release. Titoo has been a top performer on Turner-owned Pogo, consistently being in the top five viewed kids’ animated programs on Indian TV. Bapu and GGG are streaming on Indian OTT platform Zee5 and have been consistent top performers on TV as well, with GGG contributing strongly to gross channel viewership of Disney Channel India.

    The studio launched Titoo on Pogo in July 2020, a show about the eponymous schoolboy who likes to help people but always ends up causing trouble in the process. Bapu originally debuted in May 2020 and is a show about the Mahatma in a fun rendition of his social principles. Ganesh Chaturthi’20 saw the release of Gadget Guru Ganesha, a fantasy animated show about a group of orphans and their friendship with a little Ganesha who employs mystical gadgets to solve problems with them.

    Cosmos-Maya has unwaveringly adhered to strict production and release timelines in the past year, and it has reflected in the best way for the quality and performance of the eight shows they’ve released. The new announcements are just the beginning of a long line-up planned in 2021, with big names such as Dabangg and Tenali Rama also in the offering.

    Cosmos-Maya CEO Anish Mehta said the studio is creating new projects, and it's just the start of a great set of offerings lined up this year. 

    "Disney India and Turner (Warner Media) have played an integral part in our shows achieving the level of success that they see today. The domestic and international markets are opening up to a large cultural and creative diversity of animated content from every corner of the globe, and Indian homegrown kids’ content is here to make a mark deeper than ever. Our terrific creative heads Suhas Kadav (Bapu) and Dheeraj Berry (Titoo and Gadget Guru Ganesha) have helmed the projects with utmost ingenuity and have met the bar for success as with every Cosmos-Maya produced project. We have our finger on the pulse of audience demands and the media business landscape and 2021 will see the best of it,” added Mehta.

  • Cosmos-Maya secures global digital distribution deals

    Cosmos-Maya secures global digital distribution deals

    MUMBAI: Singapore-based animation studio Cosmos-Maya has secured three key digital distribution deals which will see its original content made available across 120 platforms globally, including Amazon Fire TV, Apple iTunes, Hulu, ROKU and Vudu.

    US-based OTT Studio has picked up four Cosmos-Maya titles – Vir The Robot Boy, Motu Patlu, Tik Tak Tail, and Chacha Bhatija – for its own Cartoon Plus channel which sits on both Roku and Amazon Fire TV.

    In a separate deal, Cosmos-Maya has secured a far-reaching agreement with Binge! Networks which sees the same four original titles air on over 100 platforms across North America and globally (excluding India and the Indian subcontinent).

    In addition, Cosmos-Maya’s own digital channel WowKidz is available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV under the terms of the Binge! Networks agreement. Cosmos-Maya’s WowKidz channel airs animated shows from around the world as well as the animator’s own original series. WowKidz gives children 24/7 streaming access to multiple popular kids’ programs like Motu Patlu, Vir The Robot Boy, Chacha Bhatija, and Tik Tak Tail.

    Cosmos-Maya CEO Anish Mehta said, “The syndication of our content across digital platforms is a strategic focus for our global growth. We are delighted that through these three agreements, our content and channel are now available on over 120 platforms across the world – starting with North America which is a key territory for our expansion. We look forward to a whole new international audience for our entertaining and unique collection of shows.”