News Broadcasting
Color Chips to set up facility in Visakhapatnam, plans to invest Rs 350 million
MUMBAI: Hyderabad-based Color Chips (India) Ltd is planning to invest Rs 350 million in setting up an animation production centre at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh as part of its expansion plans.
The company has already acquired three acres of land and in the first phase will develop 40,000 sq. ft. of space which will house 350-450 people. An area of 100,000 sq. ft. will be finally developed with a 1,000-seater facility.
“The first phase will require an investment of Rs 100 million and should be completed by 2007-end. We expect to set up the 100,000 sq. ft. facility by 2009 and plan to invest a further Rs 250 million for this,” Color Chips chairman and managing director Sudhish Rambhotla tells Indiantelevision.com. The centre will be mainly used to provide high-end graphic solutions, special effects, 2D and 3D animation production and also house an animation-training facility.
The company has fresh orders worth $18.5 million which it will execute within three years. This is in addition to the $1.5 million contract it has recently announced with Australia-based Albert Tross Productions for providing animation and creative services for a series of 26 episodes.
“We can’t reveal the name of the companies we have just signed up with. The $18.5 million contract will include our share in the global rights. We will be doing animation and graphics for the movies,” says Rambhotla.
By setting up a new facility in Visakhapatnam, Color Chips will spread out geographically and tap talent from the neighbouring states of West Bengal and Orissa, adds Rambhotla. The company already has a facility in Hyderabad.
Color Chips plans to raise up to $10 million through FCCBs (foreign currency convertible bonds). The company is getting into motion pictures business and has lined up two movies for production at an estimated cost of Rs 150 million. While Krishna will be an animation film, Mukhbiir is a live action film. “We expect to release Krishna in early 2007 and the second film later in the same year,” says Rambhotla.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
