Shemaroo forays into animation - Business Of Cinema

MUMBAI: Home video entertainment major Shemaroo is all set to enter the world of animation with Ghatothkach ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ Master of Magic. The feature-length 2D musical film is slated for a theatrical release soon. The movie is directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao.

Based on Indian mythology, the movie revolves around the story of Ghatothkach (son of Bhim and Hidimba), and his escapades. In true Bollywood style, the movie has magic, action, romance, comedy, fantasy and also some foot-tapping songs.

Shemaroo Entertainment vice president animation division Smita Maroo says, “We were looking for some innovative projects when we came across director – Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. He mentioned that he was directing Ghatothkach which was under production at Hyderabad based Sun Animatics. The character of ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‹Å“GhatothkachÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ and the script brought out the inner child in us and we were totally fascinated.”

“Starting with the theatrical release, we are planning a multi-platform release for Ghatothkach and looking at the licensing and merchandising space in a big way,” she adds.

Rao has experimented with unique subjects and platforms over a span of 50 years and across 60-odd films in his career. He is known for his childrenÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s film like Little John and Son of Alladin, a 3D animated film. To add to this are films like Pushpak (the silent movie), Appu Raja and Mayuri amongst others.

Shemaroo vice president Hiren Gada adds, “As a content house, creation of content is the next step for us. In line with this strategy, we have ventured into creation of live-action and animation among other content. Given our marketing and distribution strengths, we look to bring unique entertainment genres across various platforms that audiences will love to consume.”