Film Production
B.A.G. to raise up to Rs 600 million, eyes films, mobile content & animation
MUMBAI: B.A.G Films is planning to raise up to Rs 600 million to meet its funding requirements in the arena of television programming, feature films, mobile content, animation and the newly launched media school.
The Delhi-based production house is considering a mix of debt and equity options. Says B.A.G Films managing director Anurradha Prasad, “We are looking at partial debt and equity to raise this amount. We are ramping up our primary and secondary businesses with increasing television programming hours and also foraying into the mobile content. Animation is also an area we are looking at making serious inroads into. On the films front, we have already started work and are currently working on three movies.”
The company, at its annual general meeting on 13 September, authorised the board to approve borrowing and raising up up to Rs 600 million. Prasad points out that while the enablement was up to Rs 600 million, the amount that would be raised was not yet frozen upon.
The production house is currently working on three feature films. The first is titled Bend in the River and is directed by Saurabh Narang. The second venture is a Punjabi film directed by Gurbhir Grewal while the third, which is in Hindi and yet to be titled, is being directed by Tanuja Chandra.
While production for the three has already commenced, these films will be ready for release in mid-2006. All the three films fall in the mid-budget range, costing between Rs 30-50 million.
Prasad adds that Rs 120 to 200 million of the money raised would be allocated towards film production business. B.A.G. Films is also launching a four-year integrated post graduate (PG) course (which includes graduation + PG) as a new offering in their newly set up media school. The plan is to ramp up the campus which is located in Greater Noida, Delhi.
On the animation front, which B.A.G. Films is seriously looking at, the details in terms of seating capacity of studio and hardware infrastructure are still being ironed out.
Television programming hours, which is B.A.G. Film’s primary revenue stream, will also be getting into the overdrive mode, with new media like mobile content being a focussed area.
Prasad states that the time line for these ventures to unfold would be two years.
B.A.G. Films has been seeing a steady rise in its revenue year on year. While in 2003-04 the production house recorded a turnover of Rs 182.70 million, 2004-05 saw a 100 per cent growth with the company clocking revenue worth Rs 370 million. The first quarter of this year has recorded a net sales of Rs 135.08 million. Prasad estimates the turnover for 2005-06 to also grow by 100 per cent, fueled by the increase in television programming hours and the income generated from the media school.
Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
