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Tag: Sharad Devarajan

  • The Legend of Hanuman season five tops Ormax’s OTT originals list

    The Legend of Hanuman season five tops Ormax’s OTT originals list

    Mumbai: According to recent reports from Ormax Media,  The Legend of Hanuman season five created and produced by Sharad Devarajan and Graphic India has secured the #1 spot as the most-watched show across all OTT/Streaming platforms for two weeks in a row – surpassing all live-action films and shows including The Great Indian Kapil Show, Do Patti, and Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives. According to Ormax estimates, from 21 October to 3 November 2024, the Disney+ Hotstar mythological series reached a total of 9.4 million viewers.

    Co-creator, producer and showrunner of the series Sharad Devarajan commented “Because of the millions of fans across the country who have taken a chance to watch this show and support the work we are doing, The Legend of Hanuman has become the most successful animated project in Indian history. Lord Hanuman has inspired countless generations for thousands of years, connecting people across ages. The morals, lessons, and universal human truths he embodies, remain relevant today, now more than ever. Our mission with The Legend of Hanuman was to use the power of contemporary animation, direction and storytelling to create a series that does justice to this timeless hero beloved by so many billions of people. Hopefully our series will also move a generation of audiences in India to look at animation in a whole new way and usher in a golden age of original Indian animated projects that appeal audiences across the country and potentially all across the world.”

    The Legend of Hanuman has topped the Ormax streaming charts for each of its four previous seasons, making it the first animated series in India to achieve that milestone. The previous season four was released this June and according to Ormax’s charts, exceeded 22 million views in the first five weeks of release.

  • ‘Iron Man’ writers return to superheroes with Graphic India’s ‘Shadow Tiger’

    ‘Iron Man’ writers return to superheroes with Graphic India’s ‘Shadow Tiger’

    Mumbai: Graphic India, the leader in original Indian-themed character entertainment, announced today that acclaimed “Iron Man” and “Children of Men” scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, will script the live-action, English-language film adaptation of “Shadow Tiger,” based on the hit Graphic India comic book character created by Sharad Devarajan.

    This marks the first return to the superhero genre for the Academy Award-nominated writers since the first “Iron Man” film for Marvel which established the foundation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In addition to their acclaimed film work, Fergus and Ostby are also creators of the hit sci-fi series, “The Expanse,” and currently also writing and executive producing, the “God of War” series for Amazon.  

    Produced by Graphic India, Shadow Tiger is one of the most acclaimed comic books out of India in recent years. The superheroes’ digital short-form episodic releases combined with social media fan engagement contests have reached over 330 million views across digital platforms.

    “We’ve always loved international stories that can speak to audiences across cultures and borders.  Shadow Tiger felt like an ideal opportunity to do that, by returning to the roots of the superhero genre, namely that superheroes were meant to inspire ordinary people to fight injustice,” screenwriters Fergus and Ostby said in a joint statement.

    The Shadow Tiger comics tell the story of Rajan Shah, a brilliant young lawyer from humble beginnings, who sees his career destroyed when he challenges corruption in India’s legal system. His life takes an extraordinary turn when he inherits a billion-dollar empire and a mysterious power from the very man responsible for his parent’s death. Haunted by his complex past, he vows to protect the innocent and bring justice to those beyond the reach of the law. With each act of justice, Shadow Tiger teeters on the precipice of becoming the very darkness he swore to fight. It is one thing to die for a cause, but another to kill for it.

    “In creating Shadow Tiger, my mission was to create a truly global superhero with uniquely Indian roots. Having Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby on board is a game-changer – their work on Iron Man laid the foundation for a cinematic universe that has generated over $30 billion and transformed global entertainment. They’re the perfect writers to take Shadow Tiger to the world, and I am honoured they have chosen this character to mark their return to superheroes,” added  Graphic India creator of Shadow Tiger and CEO Sharad Devarajan.

    Devarajan previously co-created the “Indian Spider-Man”, Pavitr Prabhakar. That character was recently featured in the latest Spider-Man film, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” The film set a milestone in India becoming the highest-grossing animated theatrical film ever released in the country. Devarajan previously also worked with legendary creator Stan Lee to co-create, “Chakra The Invincible,” one of India’s most successful original superheroes.

    Previously at Graphic India, Devarajan also co-created, wrote and produced the animated hit, “The Legend of Hanuman” which broke records as the most successful animated project in Indian history and reached #1 on the charts for Disney+Hotstar for each of the four seasons when released.

    The live-action Shadow Tiger film is being independently developed and produced by Graphic India through its new live-action production division. Devarajan, Fergus and Ostby are producing along with Graphic’s SVP Live Action, Sarena Khan.

    Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby are repped by CAA, Kaplan/Perrone, and Gochman Law Group.

  • Toonsutra emerges as a Webtoon app, expanding with global publishers

    Toonsutra emerges as a Webtoon app, expanding with global publishers

    Mumbai: Toonsutra,  a homegrown webtoon comic app, announced today that in just a few months it has firmly established itself as the #1 comic app in India in both the Apple and Android stores. A position it has maintained for over two months with over a million downloads of the app already.

    Toonsutra’s mission is to bring together a community of passionate fandom and pop culture, catering to the largest youth market in the world – India’s 700 million+ mobile youth market. It is the only premium webtoon comics app in the region dedicated to catering to Indian audiences with Hindi, Tamil and Telegu language content offerings.

    The company has already locked up partnership deals with some of the biggest global publishers and creators to bring over 550 titles and 250,000 episodes of content into local Indian languages – the largest offering of premium, high-quality, webtoon comic content ever assembled for this market, in easy-to-read vertical scroll format optimized for mobile.

    As the excitement for the global webtoon market continues to grow with the US$2.7 Billion IPO yesterday by Naver’s Webtoon Entertainment, the medium and fandom around these new storytelling comic platforms is finding new audiences and territories. The global webtoon market is projected to reach a staggering $60 Billion by 2030, making it one of the highest-growing new categories for media and content.

    Toonsutra is founded by veteran media entrepreneurs, Sharad Devarajan who is the company’s executive chairman, and Vishal Anand, Toonsutra’s CEO.

    Devarajan is also the founder/CEO of the leading Indian character entertainment company, Graphic India and brings over 25 years of comic and fandom experience, having created over 200 episodes of animation and 300 comics. He created Spider-Man India with Marvel; created and produced the #1 hit show, Baahubali: Crown of Blood, with SS Rajamouli; created and produced The Legend of Hanuman series with Disney+Hotstar which remains the #1 animated project in Indian history.

    Anand is a serial digital media entrepreneur and was formerly CPO of Dailyhunt where he was part of the core initial team managing their product and tech teams to scale the business into one of India’s most successful media platforms (currently with over 300M users). Anand was also part of the product leadership team at Amazon Web Services.

    “Toonsutra is not just an app, it’s a fandom community and a pop-culture movement. We’re bridging the gap between global storytelling and local audiences, creating a new language of entertainment that resonates with India’s digital-first generation. Our rapid growth shows that Indian audiences are hungry for the highest-quality, premium webtoon comic stories made available in their languages and easily snackable mobile short episodes” commented Toonsutra co-founder & chairman Sharad Devarajan.

    “The initial success we are seeing for Toonsutra underscores a fundamental shift in content consumption patterns across the Indian youth. We’re not just riding the wave of digital transformation; we’re actively shaping it by combining cutting-edge technology with compelling storytelling. At Toonsutra we are creating an ecosystem where the biggest global creators and publishers can thrive by reaching entirely new regional language audiences, and Indian readers can discover new worlds with every scroll. Our mission goes beyond entertainment – we’re fostering a new era of creativity, community and creative expression in India,” added Toonsutra co-founder & CEO, Vishal Anand.

    Toonsutra has become a trusted source by global partners for bringing their top content to Indian audiences with the highest quality webtoon formatting and translation, ensuring that Indian language audiences can experience the very best of the world’s comic storytelling. International partnerships include Valiant Comics, Webtoon Factory, Kenaz, Archie Comics, and Boom! Studios, Top Cow Productions, Liquid Comics, and numerous others. 

    In addition to award-winning and bestselling comics from global creators, Toonsutra also has exclusive webtoon comics available based on some of the biggest Indian franchises, including the film sensation, Baahubali; and the hit streaming series, The Legend of Hanuman, and hundreds of Indian episodes from leading Indian comic publisher Graphic India.

    Toonsutra is also backed by a leading group of investors including the Sony Innovation Fund; Maiora Capital, Kun Gao (co-founder, Crunchyroll); Jeremy Liew (partner, Lightspeed); Kevin Lin (co-founder, Twitch); Patrick Lee (co-founder, Rotten Tomatoes); Holly Lui (co-founder, Kabam); Benjamin Grubbs (co-founder, CreatorPlus); Steve Chung (fmr. CEO of Americas, CJENM); and others.

    To learn more about Toonsutra and its exciting features, visit www.toonsutra.com

    The Toonsutra app is free to download on Android and iOS devices.

  • Graphic India & Arka Mediaworks announce new animated series Baahubali: Crown of Blood

    Graphic India & Arka Mediaworks announce new animated series Baahubali: Crown of Blood

    Mumbai: Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks announced that their new animated series, Baahubali: Crown of Blood, has ranked as the #1 show in Hindi on 20 May 2024 above all other live-action shows and films on Disney+Hotstar.

    Having premiered on May 17th, Season 1 of the series is a trailblazer, setting a groundbreaking new milestone for the Indian animation industry as the first original 2D-animated show to ever appear at the top of the streaming charts.

    Graphic India’s previous hit series, The Legend of Hanuman, has previously also reached number one status on the streaming charts in each of its three seasons as a 3D-animated show (most recently in January 2024) – making Graphic India the most successful animation producer in India, with two separate shows reaching the #1 ranking on Disney+Hotstar in just the last 5 months.

    Independent media consulting and data analytics group, Ormax Media listed Baahubali: Crown of Blood as the Top 3 Hindi shows or films in India for the past week across all streaming platforms in the country. Ormax estimates the show received 3.3 million viewers in just the first few days.

    Bahubali: Crown of Blood was created by S.S. Rajamouli and Sharad Devarajan and produced by Rajamouli, Devarajan & Shobu Yarlagadda, with a story by Devarajan and directed and produced by Jeevan J. Kang & Navin John.

    The epic new chapter in the Baahubali universe takes audiences into an animated untold story of epic adventure, brotherhood, betrayal, conflict and heroism.

    Creator of the Baahubali universe, S.S. Rajamouli, said, “The world of Baahubali is vast, and the film franchise was the perfect introduction to the same. However, there’s so much more to explore, and that’s where Baahubali: Crown of Blood comes into the picture. This story will reveal for the first time many unknown twists in the lives of Baahubali and Bhallaladeva and a dark secret long forgotten as the two brothers must save Mahishmati. We are extremely happy to introduce this new chapter to Baahu’s fans and to bring this story in an animated format, which brings a new, exciting look to the world of Baahubali. Arka Mediaworks and I are delighted to collaborate with Sharad Devarajan, Disney+Hotstar and Graphic India as we reshape Indian animation for a broader audience beyond kids.”

    Baahubali co-creator, writer and producer Sharad Devarajan: Crown of Blood said, “S.S. Rajamouli’s epic storytelling and groundbreaking Baahubali films have captivated the imagination of hundreds of millions of fans across India, redefining all of Indian entertainment for a generation. He is one of the greatest creators in the world and it’s a dream come true to collaborate with him and Arka Mediaworks to share these new untold stories. Baahubali: Crown of Blood is an animated action-packed adventure filled with political intrigue, drama, betrayal, war, heroism, loyalty and courage. This is my second animation project with Disney+Hotstar after ‘The Legend of Hanuman’ franchise and they have been the perfect partners for us at Graphic India to launch these groundbreaking new older animated shows for the country.” 

  • Graphic India’s ‘The Legend of Hanuman’ tops the chart as the #1 Hindi Show on Disney+Hotstar

    Graphic India’s ‘The Legend of Hanuman’ tops the chart as the #1 Hindi Show on Disney+Hotstar

    Mumbai: Graphic India announced that Season 3 of its hit animated series, The Legend of Hanuman, has ranked as the #1 show in Hindi on 22 January 2024, above all other live action shows and films on Disney+Hotstar streamed that day.

    Having premiered on 12 January, Season 3 of the series continues to be a trailblazer, setting an unprecedented milestone for the Indian animation industry.

    The series has been a breakout success in India with independent media consulting and data analytics group, Ormax Media listing it in the Top 3 Hindi shows or films in India for the past two weeks across all streaming platforms in the country. Ormax estimates the show received 8 million views in the first 10 days.

    Along with its previous seasons, The Legend of Hanuman is the only animated series to be listed in the Ormax Media chart of top 5 shows and movies. The series has also received an overwhelmingly positive response from audiences across age groups, resulting in a 9.2 IMDB audience feedback rating and 4.9 (out of 5) Google audience review rating, making it one of the highest scores for any original Indian streaming show or film.

    The series was created by Sharad Devarajan, Jeevan J. Kang and Charuvi Agrawal, and produced by Graphic India.

    Devarajan and Kang are the series showrunners and Executive Producers, with Devarajan as the lead writer and Kang as the lead director.

    Graphic India founder and the series co-creator, Sharad Devarajan commented, “The Legend of Hanuman continues to be an unprecedented milestone for original Indian animation, and we are so honored by the positive responses we have received for Season 3 so far. Our hope was to create a transcendent moment for Indian animation and to do justice to this amazing hero that has inspired countless millions of people for thousands of years. We wanted to have Indian audiences experience the medium of animation as a new form of sophisticated storytelling that captures the complex subject matter and deeply spiritual themes of our mythologies. I hope people of all ages will continue to discover and enjoy the series in the weeks, months, and years ahead.”

  • The comic & Webtoon app ‘Toonsutra’ is now live on Android & iOS

    The comic & Webtoon app ‘Toonsutra’ is now live on Android & iOS

    Mumbai: Toonsutra has launched the country’s biggest webtoon app that can be accessed and enjoyed by all Indian Android & iOS users. Webtoon platforms have become an explosive phenomenon across the world growing to US$4.7 billion in 2021 and projected to exceed US$60 billion a year by 2030. The digital media startup spun out last year from Graphic India – the country’s leading original character entertainment company. Validating the timing and the potential this opportunity presents for the Indian webtoon market, Sony Innovation Fund recently became an investor in Toonsutra.

    Through the Toonsutra app, comic fans can consume some of the best global and local comic content and stories in Hindi, Tamil, Telegu and English languages in an easy-to-read vertical scroll format optimized for mobile. Content in Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam and Kannada will also be available soon. Breaking the mould of traditional comic reading, Toonsutra provides readers with comics in bite-sized snackable episodes, each of which delivers an enticing narrative leaving the hooked reader anticipating the next thrilling episode.

    “Toonsutra plans to spark a new wave of pop-culture entertainment across India connecting millions and building the largest community of fandom across comics, webtoons, animation, genre and fiction,” commented  Graphic India co-founder and CEO Sharad Devarajan. “Just as we saw with the streaming video revolution, India’s entertainment audience is excited to experience and experiment with a wide variety of the best content from across the world, and also groundbreaking local originals from homegrown creators. Comics and webtoons are the next big visual storytelling medium for the country and Toonsutra is bringing the highest quality comic stories by the greatest global creators to India’s vernacular languages for the first time.”

    The app will offer episodes from different genres including fantasy, romance, mythology, superhero, sci-fi, action and more. Toonsutra’s new storytelling home will showcase the highest quality web-toon and comic stories from top Indian and global creators, including stories from icons Stan Lee, Grant Morrison, Ryan Pagelow, Shekhar Kapur, Jeevan J. Kang, Mounica Tata, Rohan Chakravarty, Alicia Souza. The platform will also promote emerging rising star creators from across India giving them a home to tell their stories.

    “The webtoon mobile comic space has taken off globally and is projected to exceed US$60 Billion a year by 2030. India’s massive 700 million youth market is looking for new, engaging, snackable, high-quality experiences. Toonsutra’s web-toon bite-sized format will appeal to this young consumer who consumes entertainment very differently today. A convenient vertical scroll is native to where everyone is on their phones 24×7!” said veteran mobile and media startup leader, Vishal Anand who recently joined as Toonsutra’s co-founder and chief operating officer. “With India’s media and entertainment market expected to grow from $23 billion to $100 billion by 2030, we believe web-toon comics are perfectly positioned to be one of the largest accelerants for that growth,” he added. Previously, as Chief Product Officer and part of the core initial team at Dailyhunt, Anand helped scale one of India’s most successful media platforms to over 100M active users and build and manage their product and tech teams. Most recently Anand was part of the product leadership team at Amazon Web Services.

    As readers dive deeper into webtoons, they will earn coins, unlock rewards, and discover hidden bonus surprises and community features. The more they read, the more they are rewarded, enhancing the excitement of their storytelling journey. Readers can seamlessly enjoy their daily dose of entertainment without having to pinch, zoom or scale pages, unlike other normal comic reader PDF apps. In addition to free daily content, fans can also purchase and binge on episodes for as low as INR 5, making comics finally accessible to everyone.

    The vast library available on Toonsutra includes exclusive content with numerous global partners, including:

    Graphic India’s leading Indian comic stories such as 18 Days, Devi, Shadow Tiger, Dragonfly, The Mighty Yeti and Chakra The Invincible; the epic comics based on Baahubali: The Lost Legends and more.

    The vast Archie Comics library will be made available in vernacular languages for the first time, featuring stories about Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and the gang from Riverdale. Just in time to catch up on the original comics that inspired the upcoming ‘The Archies’ film coming in December to Netflix.  

    Superhero lovers in India can finally enter the world of Valiant Comics, one of the world’s largest superhero universes, and enjoy hit titles like X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Ninjak and dozens more.

    Cinema lovers can experience the Liquid Comics library with original comics made by some of the world’s most iconic filmmakers including Wes Craven’s ‘Coming of Rage’; Barry Sonnenfeld’s ‘Dinosaurs vs. Aliens’; Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Gamekeeper; and John Woo’s ‘Seven Brothers’ to name a few.

    Manga fans can enjoy, stories from Kenaz, a leading South Korean-based studio that specializes in vertical manga series in popular categories such as love, romance, fantasy, and action with acclaimed titles such as Evil Hunter, Blood Type Love, The Distance between Us, The Scent of Love and more.

    Toonsutra will also be putting the spotlight on home-grown creators from India such as the inimitable Alicia Souza whose designs and comics have brought joy to millions; the amazing Mounica Tata who portrays life in India through an intelligent, satirical, and comic lens; and Rohan Chakravarty whose Green Humor comics highlight important environmental topics with hilarious wit; and new Indian creators being constantly added.

    Toonsutra’s early backers include some of the biggest names in tech and media such as entrepreneurs, Rotten Tomatoes co-founder Patrick Lee; Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin; Crunchyroll co-founder Kun Gao; Jeremy Liew partner Lightspeed Venture Partners; Rishad Tobaccowala, Fmr. chief growth officer, Publicis Group; Michael Maher, founder, Start Media; Benjamin Grubbs, co-founder, CreatorPlus; Holly Lui, co-founder, Kabam; Ray Chan, co-founder, 9GAG; Sandeep Kumar Sood, co-Founder, Junglee Games; and others.  

  • Screenlife partners with Graphic India & Reliance Entertainment

    Screenlife partners with Graphic India & Reliance Entertainment

    MUMBAI: Russian director and producer Timur Bekmambetov, whose creation of the innovative Screenlife format has spawned hit movies such as Profile and Unfriended, is setting his sights on India by striking a partnership with local players Graphic India and Reliance Entertainment.

    Bekmambetov and Graphic India founder Sharad Devarajan will team up to develop a slate of original local-language films leveraging the Screenlife genre in India. The deal will commence with three films from up-and-coming Indian filmmakers, the first of which is aiming to go into production early next year.

    Bekmambetov’s Screenlife format has seen Unfriended gross $65M globally, off a $1M budget, and Searching take more than $75M. In the US, he has a five-picture deal with Universal. He is also looking to shoot the world’s first vertical format blockbuster.

    This year, Bekmambetov has continued to develop and produce throughout the pandemic, with a Screenlife adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, R#J, set to premiere at Sundance, as well as a sequel to Searching. He also founded tech startup Screenlife Ltd, which is partnered with Microsoft and is developing products and services powered by artificial intelligence and neural networks to boost mainstream production of Screenlife content.

    “Screenlife films are universally relatable to people around the world, and audiences intuitively understand this storytelling language, because it’s how we live. I believe our devices can reveal more about a person than they would ever say out loud, because we never lie to our screens,” said Bekmambetov.

    “India is one of the world’s leading fastest-growing entertainment economies. We are delighted to partner with Timur and Sharad to bring Screenlife, a new digital onscreen filmmaking language, to India and provide a new and powerful platform to showcase talent of Indian writers and directors,” said  Reliance Entertainment group CEO Shibasish Sarkar.

    “I have been fortunate to learn so much from Timur over the past few years, and his unbounded creativity and disruptive thinking is an inspiration. At Graphic India, we strive to push the boundaries of storytelling with new genres and experiences, and this wonderful partnership with Reliance Entertainment will give us an amazing opportunity to showcase some of India’s pioneering filmmakers and creators,” added Devarajan.

    Devarajan’s Graphic India is the company behind numerous Indian superhero IPs, spawning film and TV adaptations as well as a series of short motion comics which have been hugely successful on TikTok India. Devarajan is also the creator of Baahubali: The Lost Legends, the long-running original TV animated series which is part of the hugely successful Baahubali franchise.

  • Graphic india brings Archie to bollywood

    Graphic india brings Archie to bollywood

    MUMBAI: In an epic announcement that’s sure to send shockwaves around the globe, Archie Comics, home to some of the most popular characters in entertainment, including Archie, Betty & Veronica and Jughead, in partnership with Graphic India, one of India’s leading character entertainment companies, announced plans to develop a live-action, theatrical film based on the iconic Archie Comics characters, bringing Archie and his friends to life, Bollywood-style.

    The production, which will be the first international comic to be translated for Indian screens, is in the early stages with an official release date to be announced. The companies have begun taking initial steps toward a modern, entertaining screenplay that will surely resonate with longtime Archie fans in India and beyond. The Bollywood film will reimagine the classic characters like Archie, Betty, Veronica, Reggie, Moose and Jughead as Indians and will feature all the classic elements of the hugely popular comic book series.    

    “We are supremely excited to partner with the great team at Graphic India to bring Archie and his friends to Bollywood,” said Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater. “Archie’s lasting and growing presence in India made this move the logical next step as our stellar library of characters continues to expand into other media. It’s a major moment for Archie and its fans around the world.”

    “Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead have been a source of inspiration for numerous Bollywood films over the years, and now it’s time to take them fully into Bollywood in an exciting new twist of a story that we have planned,” said Sharad Devarajan, Co-Founder & CEO of Graphic India. “These characters have held a special place in the hearts of Indians for decades and we have no doubt that the new Indian cast of Archie and the gang will be an exciting moment for the country.” 

    Archie Comics is enjoying tremendous success with the hit TV series Riverdale, which launched in 2017. The company also recently announced with Netflix the upcoming Untitled Sabrina Series. Archie Comics have sold over 2 billion copies worldwide and are published in over 17 languages in over 55 countries.

  • Stan Lee’s superhero mobile game released by Gamesbond-underDOGS, Graphic India & POW!

    Stan Lee’s superhero mobile game released by Gamesbond-underDOGS, Graphic India & POW!

    MUMBAI: India’s leading mobile game distribution and publishing house, Gamesbond, released its latest mobile game “Chakra: World Siege” in partnership with Graphic India and POW! Entertainment, the IP licensors for one of India’s leading superhero characters, “Chakra The Invincible.”

    Gamesbond’s development partner for the game is the studio, underDOGS.

    Chakra: World Siege is currently available for free on the Google Play store and was featured as one of the top games in their “New and Updated” section. “Chakra: World Siege” has been launched globally with a focus on targeting the Indian audience.

    The game is based on the animation and comic book character “Chakra: The Invincible” created by superhero icon, Stan Lee and Sharad Devarajan. Lee is the legendary co-creator of the world’s most popular superheroes including Spider-Man™, X-Men™, Fantastic Four™, Iron Man™, Hulk™, The Avengers™, and more.

    Stan Lee, brimming with enthusiasm added, “Against the spectacular backdrop of the great Indian metropolis of Mumbai, we tell the incredible saga of Chakra, one of my most exciting superhero creations, whose adventures will captivate audiences around the world.”

    Chakra: World Siege involves the user playing as Chakra in a challenging quest to save the world from his long-time nemesis, the evil Boss Yama. The game is an action-packed running game that takes you on a journey through the Seven Wonders of the World to ensure their safety. As Chakra, players must jump and dodge various obstacles and unlock their “chakras,” to gain special powers and superhero moves needed to save the world.

    “Stan Lee’s characters have generated $15 billion at the global box office, creating some of the most beloved icons in entertainment. More people today likely know the face of Spider-Man than they do the Mona Lisa,” added Graphic India CEO Sharad Devarajan. “I have no doubt this will be the first of many new games for our Indian superhero as we grow Chakra to become a successful gaming franchise in the future. Gamesbond and underDOGS have been amazing partners and creative collaborators to help us bring this game to audiences worldwide.”

    The Chakra: World Siege game launch coincided with the airing of the third Chakra-The Invincible animated TV film, “Chakra: The Mystery of Mighty Girl” which premiered on Cartoon Network. The Indian superhero character is also in development as a theatrical live action Bollywood film, to be directed by acclaimed filmmaker, Vikramaditya Motwane and produced by Phantom Films, POW! Entertainment and Graphic India.

    “We are excited with our collaboration with Graphic India and underDOGS studio for the Chakra game and the instant success it has seen will help us strengthening our collaboration towards investing more in the partnership. The Chakra franchise is quite popular among kids and the game is designed in a way that even a 5 year old kid will be able to understand, play and stay engaged”, says Mauj Mobile VP – products Anshul Singhal.

    Talking about their plans he added, “We believe that with our understanding of the gaming consumers and distribution strengths; we are the ideal publishing partners for local IP owners and game developers towards creating and sustaining a successful game for the Indian users”

  • Colors to air animated series ‘Baahubali: The Lost Legends’

    MUMBAI: Colors has announced the acquisition of the broadcast satellite rights to the animated series spin-off called, Baahubali: The Lost Legends.

    The animated series which features all new original stories of the magnum opus from acclaimed filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks is slated for a television launch on Colors soon.

    Commenting on the procurement of the rights, Viacom18 COO Raj Nayak said, “Baahubali has proved to be a landmark film in the history of Indian cinema. Its success is nothing short of a case study for the Indian filmmakers. We at Colors pride ourselves for knowing the pulse of our viewers. Going by the ripples that this masterpiece has generated nationwide, we thought this was the right time to bring to our television audiences the folklores of ‘Baahubali’ which have been captured stunningly in this animated series.”

    He further added, “Graphic India’s show has tremendous appeal amongst the viewers as it cuts across age groups and stands out in the cluttered environment. Baahubali with its storyline and characters has created an entire ecosystem that can translate beyond the silver screen and make for excellent content in other mediums. The animated version is just an attempt towards that direction and we’re sure it will mesmerize the TV viewers.”

    Baahubali: The Lost Legends has been created by S.S. Rajamouli, Sharad Devarajan and Arka Mediaworks, who are the producers, along with series lead writer, Ashwin Pande and Jeevan J. Kang, Graphic’s EVP Creative and the lead character designer for the new animated series.

    On this partnership said celebrated director, S. S. Rajamouli, “The reach of television as a medium in India is extraordinary, and we’re thrilled to partner with Raj Nayak and Colors to bring the untold stories of the Mahishmati Kingdom to the television audiences. Our creation of the series with Graphic India and Sharad Devarajan was formed on the idea that we could launch an animated series that would go beyond just kids. With the Colors’ distribution platform, we will be able to bring Baahubali – The Lost Legends to the millions of people in India from ages eight to eighty.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, Arka Mediaworks CEO Shobu Yarlagaddab said, “We are delighted that Colors is collaborating with Arka Mediaworks and Graphic India to bring the Baahubali animated series to television. The paradigm shift that Baahubali has brought into the entertainment industry is truly inspiring for all of us, and now with ‘Baahubali: The Lost Legends’ fans of the film can continue to live the journey of Baahubali, Bhallaladeva and all their other favorite characters.”

    Graphic India co-founder and CEO Sharad Devarajan, “The epic storytelling and groundbreaking visuals that S. S. Rajamouli created has captivated millions, and the future of Indian cinema shall now always be defined as ‘before Baahubali’ and ‘after Baahubali’. We are honored to work with Raj Nayak and the amazing team at Colors to bring these new stories of Baahubali to television audiences across the country.”

    Filled with intrigue, betrayal, war, action and adventure, the animated series will take audiences on new adventures beyond the film, as we learn for the first time the events that shaped Baahubali from a young prince into a legendary hero and reveal hidden secrets from the world of Baahubali for its millions of fans. ‘Baahubali: The Lost Legends’ was initially launched digitally on Amazon Prime Video and will soon be released through television on Colors.