Makers of Chhota Bheem to open new animation studio in Mumbai

Studio to focus on international projects that could be outsourced to India

Green Gold Animation, the studio behind the immensely popular animated character 'Chhota Bheem', has launched a second studio company called Golden Robot. The studio has been launched by getting together Mumbai-based individual artists, who have experience in the field but may not have had the capital to go big.

Golden Robot will complement the parent firm Green Gold by focusing on international projects that may be outsourced to India. The studio will also provide a platform for domestic as well as international co-productions. Green Gold, on the other hand, will be focusing on creating Intellectual Properties (IPs) that the company can then sell or lease to broadcasters all over the world.

"We set up the Los Angeles office a while back and now, apart from creating IPs in India like we have been doing, we'll also be developing content driven IPs for the global market. We have 10 to 15 such IPs ready," said Rajiv Chilaka, founder and MD, Green Gold Animation.

He went on to say that for a decade, India-based animation studios were struggling but the tide seemed to be changing in favour of them now.

"While the period between 2005 and 2015 was a tough time for animation studios in India, the past couple of years have shown much promise. With Indian broadcasters focusing on local productions for kid's channels and the emergence of OTT players like Amazon, Netflix, Hotstar and Voot, among others, there is much scope for work in the animation field. We felt it was the right time to expand Green Gold's presence in the field," added Chilaka.

While 'Chhota Bheem' and 'Mighty Raju' are Green Gold products, other characters like Motu Patlu and Shiva (both on Nickelodeon) are also gaining popularity. Channels like Cartoon Network, Pogo, Nickelodeon and Sonic have all outlined plans to include more local content that is based on locally relevant characters.

The senior leadership of Golden Robot comprises industry veterans with proven track records. RK Chand will head the business development department, while Ritesh Kumar will be leading the creative team. Meanwhile, Abhishek Chandra will head the animation department of Golden Robot Animation.