Animation
Disney brings Graphic’s ‘Astra Force’ on Big B’s birthday
MUMBAI: Graphic India and Disney Channel India will reveal the first look of its superhero series Astra Force on the occasion of Amitabh Bachchan’s birthday – 11th October as a special surprise for the millions of megastar’s fans around the world.
In the month of August last year, Graphic and Disney announced the production of the animated series -“Astra Force.” with legendary icon, Bachchan. A funny and fast-paced, action-adventure series, filled with laughs and thrills, “Astra Force” tells the story of a mythical hero from a distant world, who was stranded on th earth millions of years ago after an epic space battle.
When 8-year old brother and sister twins accidentally awaken the mythical superhero from his long hibernation, they must teach him about our modern world and join Astra to save the universe from a new wave of giant monsters and intergalactic threats.
“At the heart of everything we do at Disney is tell great stories and we tell them in a manner that our audiences that can relate with. We have been building on our local animation slate on Disney Channel; offering content and content that kids have come to love and now with Astra Force, we are extremely happy to have partnered with Sharad and Mr. Bachchan to bring in another interesting facet to storytelling in this space, said Disney India VP – content and communications, media networks, Vijay Subramaniam.
“Amitabh Bachchan is a real life superhero to millions, including myself, so it’s no surprise that he is the perfect person to become immortalized in this new animated avatar,” added Graphic’s Co-Founder & CEO Sharad Devarajan. “The opportunity to collaborate with Bachchan on ‘Astra Force’ is made that much stronger by partnering with Disney, a company whose creativity and storytelling I have admired all my life.”
Disney Channel India has been entertaining kids and families through a range of locally relevant stories spread across high-quality animation series and “Astra Force” will be the perfect complement to the line-up of existing shows.
Devarajan is the producer on “Astra Force” along with Graphic India SVP-Creative Jeevan J. Kang who is overseeing visual development character design and art for the project.
Graphic’s previous animated superhero, Chakra The Invincible, was created with Stan Lee (co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man and The Avengers) and received over 30 million views globally on Rovio’s ToonsTV platform available through the Angry Birds app.
Graphic India is a character entertainment company focused on creating leading characters, comics and stories through mobile and digital platforms. Founded by media entrepreneurs Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman, it is owned by the U.S. comic book company, Liquid Comics and CA Media LP, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, LLC (TCG).
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.
