Animation
Animation film on RTI in Holland Animation Film Festival
NEW DELHI: Chakravyuh (The Vicious Circle), an animation film on the Right to Information by renowned filmmaker Dhvani Desai has been selected for screening at the Holland Animation Film Festival
Mumbai-based Desai is the only Indian whose film is being featured at the Festival, and the only Asian to feature in the section HAFF Tube.
The eighteenth edition of the international Festival – which is one of the top ten international animation film festivals in the world – is being held from 18 to 22 March at Utrecht.
The film had been voted the most popular film at the Mumbai International Film Festival.
The film Chakravyuh shows the struggles of four characters from different regions of India and throws light on how RTI can be used to fight corruption. It has been produced by Films Division, and was first shown on 12 October 2013 on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of RTI in Mumbai.
Desai’s earlier animation film for children Manpasand on women’s empowerment had been the opening film of the Asian Women’s Film Festival 2008 in Delhi, apart from participating in around 10 international film festivals.
The film had been produced by the Children’s Film Society, India, and was based on a fast becoming extinct folk art called ‘Sanjha art’ and had won many awards, including one at New York Film Festival.
Desai has been making films for over twenty years and has served on many juries. Her films include 5 short public service films for the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation on the Principles of Mahatma Gandhi in Hindi and English.
MUMBAI: History is getting a fresh rewrite this time with code, creativity and a longer arc in mind. Lens Vault Studios has announced its first original production, Bal Tanhaji, marking the official entry of the newly launched, tech-driven studio into India’s evolving entertainment landscape.
Arriving six years after the box-office success of Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the new project expands the universe rather than revisiting familiar ground. Bal Tanhaji explores uncharted narrative territory, signalling a clear shift from one-off cinematic spectacles to long-format, world-building storytelling designed for digital-first audiences.
At the heart of this ambition is Prismix Studios, the in-house generative AI and technology arm powering the creative engine behind the show. The studio’s approach blends storytelling with next-generation tools, aiming to reimagine how Indian IPs are created, scaled and sustained beyond theatrical releases.
For Lens Vault Studios chairman Ajay Devgn the new venture represents a deliberate step beyond traditional cinema. The focus is firmly on building long-form intellectual properties across fiction and non-fiction, tailored to changing viewing habits and platform-led consumption. He said the studio intends to explore formats that remain largely untapped, while drawing on the team’s experience with large-scale cinematic storytelling.
Lens Vault Studios founder and CEO Danish Devgn echoed that sentiment, describing Bal Tanhaji as the studio’s first generative-AI-led IP and the starting point of a broader vision. The aim, he noted, is to carry forward the legacy of the Tanhaji universe while connecting with younger audiences through a blend of powerful narratives and emerging technologies.
With Bal Tanhaji, Lens Vault Studios is planting its flag early not just launching a show, but signalling a larger play for cinematic universes that live, grow and evolve across platforms. If this debut is any indication, the future of Indian storytelling may be as much about imagination as it is about innovation.
