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While "Motu Patlu" are known characters created by Cosmos Maya, there is more to the indigenous animated content story from the house. In conversation with Moneycontrol, Managing Director Ketan Mehta talks about Inspector Chingum -the new character that have come to the limelight and about the days ahead in the animated content scene.
Edited excerpts:
Q. Your production "Inspector Chingum" has taken off very well on Amazon Prime Video. Tell us more about the series.
A. "Inspector Chingum", the first spinoff series of the massively popular show "Motu Patlu", was recently launched on Amazon Prime Video. The production house recognised the potential of Inspector Chingum very early. The character has been very popular, featuring in more than 700 "Motu Patlu" episodes and is an integral part of the show. The new show has high quality 3D animation which promises to wow audiences with its action, comedy and masala entertainment that Cosmos-Maya is known for.
In addition to the classic Bollywood style storytelling that the studio is known for, Inspector Chingum features funky rap songs by Baba Sehgal, one of the pioneers of Indian rap. Every episode will have a special song and this is one of the biggest highlights of the series.
Q. You created Motu Patlu and its one of the most popular Indian animated characters now…then we saw Inspector Chingum… what's next?
A. Taking things forward from characters we created, we are now working on a spin-off series based on the recently released film "Leo da Vinci: Mission Mona Lisa". The film is produced by Gruppo Alcuni and was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. This is another great achievement for the film which premiered in Italy in January.
Gruppo Alcuni is one of the leading companies in the Italian and European animation production sector. To date, their series and the feature films have been distributed in over 137 countries worldwide. After capturing hearts of fans in Italy, the film was released in cinemas in Russia CIS and South Korea. Taking this success forward we have come together with Italy-based Rai Ragazzi and Gruppo Alcuni to co-produce a spin-off, Leo da Vinci, which is a children’s cartoon series and will air on Rai TV. The series will have 52 episodes of 13 minutes each.
Q. Are digital platforms like Amazon Prim taking animated content seriously?
A. Oh yes. Digital platforms have a wide variety for animated content. Our own platform Wow Kidz now has 7 million subscribers and 6 billion views in just a year and a half. The animation scene is heating up in India and every platform that has original content is taking animated content seriously. We are riding on the popularity of the success in the segment and using it to come up with more original animated content.
Q. You are now backed by funding from Emerald Media. Are there any new studios coming up?
A. We are trying to expand our operations. We are expanding our studios in India and alongside that we have just got a new studio in the Philippines and in the process of getting more in North America and Europe.
Q. Getting funds, putting together new shows, getting a huge subscriber base, what’s next from the house of Cosmos Maya?
A. We are working on a 90 minute feature film in the animated content format and spending over 10 million USD on it. It is too early to give out further details, but we should be ready to make some announcements in October and then gradually work on coming up with at least one film a year.
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