Animation
Crest plans to raise $30 million to fund film projects
MUMBAI: Mumbai-based Crest Animation Studios Ltd is planning to raise around $30 million to fund three co-produced animated feature films.
Part of the fund-raising could be through equity dilution in Crest’s US subsidiary company, RichCrest Animation (RCA). Crest is working with merchant bankers in the US and India to bring in an equity investor.
The fund requirement will be over three years. Crest plans to raise a mix of debt and equity. “Our preference is to find an equity partner in the US subsidiary company. As the agreement for the three feature films is between RichCrest and Lions Gate Entertainment, we feel it is better to fund our US company through a mix of debt and equity,” says Crest Animation Studios chief financial officer Vinayak Purohit.
The State Bank of India has sanctioned Rs 450 million, funded as well as non funded facility, to Crest Animation. The animation company is also in talks with a leading bank to raise $5-7 million.
RichCrest Animation and Lions Gate Entertainment have signed a three-picture co-production and co-financing agreement. This will mark Crest’s foray into the theatrical segment. The cost and profits are to be equally shared between the two companies. The first film under the new agreement will be Sylvester And The Magic Pebble, based on the Caldecott medal-winning story by the creator of the blockbuster Shrek. A second, currently untitled feature project, is in development, and the third will be identified in the near future.
The promoters’ holding in Crest Animation Studios is 18.65 per cent, scaling up from 14.71 per cent with a recent preferential allotment of 8,87,330 equity shares at Rs 54 each.
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.
