Hindi
Spielberg, Reliance close $825 mn funding
MUMBAI: DreamWorks and Reliance Big Entertainment have locked the first phase of financing, sealing an amount of $825 million that would allow the joint venture to make six films annually.
The final piece was the $325 million tied up by JP Morgan in a syndicated financing arrangement with a clutch of banks that include Bank of America, City National Bank, Union Bank of California and Israel Discount Bank.
Reliance Big Entertainment is putting in a matching amount as equity financing while distribution partner Walt Disney Studios has committed $175 million. The funding will allow DreamWorks’ Steven Spielberg to start shooting his first film project this year.
DreamWorks had struck a joint venture arrangement with Reliance Big Entertainment after exiting from Paramount. The global economic downturn had delayed Spielberg’s efforts to find financial partners to back up his slate of film projects.
Reliance ADAG chairman Anil Ambani aims to build a film empire that has interests across the globe. The partnership with DreamWorks is crucial to his Hollywood strategy.
The first film scheduled for release is 2010.
Hindi
Kuku enters theatrical cinema with Indian Institute of Zombies
Audio and micro-drama giant launches first Hindi feature film on 8 May.
MUMBAI: Kuku just added brains to its bite because when an audio and micro-drama powerhouse decides to make a zombie comedy, even the undead had better watch their step. Kuku, one of India’s largest digital entertainment companies and the force behind Kuku FM and Kuku TV, has announced its foray into theatrical cinema with its debut Hindi feature film, Indian Institute of Zombies (IIZ). Billed as India’s first campus zombie comedy, the film is set to release in cinemas on 8 May 2026.
Set inside an elite engineering campus, IIZ blends zombie horror, youth comedy and sharp social satire, promising a high-energy big-screen experience. The film stars an ensemble cast including Jessie Lever, Anupriya Goenka, Mohan Kapur, Ranjan Raj, Shivani Paliwal, Shantanu Anam, Rose Sardana, Sachin Kavetham and Tanishq Chaudhary. It has been developed in-house at Kuku, scripted by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal (known for Brahmāstra and Farzi), and directed by Gaganjeet Singh and Alok Dwivedi of Low Gravity Productions.
Kuku, CEO Lal Chand Bisu said, “Kuku has always been obsessed with how India consumes stories. We built scale in personal consumption through Kuku FM and created a new micro-drama category with Kuku TV. Theatres represent the next frontier, and Indian Institute of Zombies marks the first of many, rooted in youth culture, genre innovation and mass Indian tastes.”
Kuku senior vice president Kunj Sanghvi added, “IIZ is a film for everyone who has ever been on a college campus. We observed the success of horror comedies at the box office, the lack of a breakout Indian zombie film, and the insatiable appetite for campus stories across age groups.”
The project also showcases Kuku’s AI-native approach to filmmaking. Artificial intelligence has been deeply integrated into concept structuring, story architecture, scheduling, budgeting and creative iteration not as a gimmick, but as an amplifier to enable faster development cycles and sharper decisions.
With this move, Kuku is evolving from a leader in audio and vertical storytelling into a multi-format entertainment powerhouse, leveraging its deep audience insights and technological edge to create culturally resonant theatrical experiences.
In a content universe where stories are getting shorter and screens smaller, Kuku is boldly going big proving that even in the age of two-minute episodes, there’s still plenty of room for zombies, campus chaos and full-blown cinematic laughter. Indian Institute of Zombies hits theatres on 8 May 2026.
