Film Production
Eros Intl’s Deshpande hints at group rejig, likens RIL tie-up to ‘blank canvas’
NEW DELHI: The Eros group, which includes an India-listed company with the parent Eros International plc. listed on NYSE, will soon start the process of simplifying the organisational structure to realign shareholders interest after an announcement that Reliance Industries Ltd. would be investing in the parent for a five per cent stake, according to a company executive.
In addition, Eros International will not use the money being put in by a RIL subsidiary into the joint venture with the Indian arm to set up a combined fund of $150 million for content consolidation from India but will fund the JV internally.
“At the parent level, there is a massive infusion of cash and it is fungible. So Eros International Media Ltd (the Indian arm of Eros International Plc.) will have the resources to do what it is aiming to do. It is a market leader and we are joining hands with one of the biggest players in the business, Reliance Industries. So content consolidation is here to come,” Eros group CEO and MD Jyoti Deshpande told business news channel CNBC-TV18.
Asked whether Eros International Plc will use the money being paid by Reliance to contribute its share in the $150 million [Rs 500 crore each from the two partners in the Rs 1,000 crore corpus] fund being set up by the RIL-Eros India joint venture, Deshpande clarified: “No. The money that Reliance is putting in is not to be used for this purpose. That is for a different purpose. It [Reliance] is putting money in the parent. The [Eros] group has enough resources of its own to fund this joint venture.”
She went on to add: “The current cash on parent’s books without Reliance stake is already about $140 million. The parent always gives film advances to the Indian company and the Indian company sells overseas rights, etc. to the parent company. So even without 5 per cent stake, the group already has in excess of Rs 500 crore with it already.”
According to Deshpande, who will be quitting Eros and formally joining RIL attached to chairman Mukesh Ambani’s office to look after its entertainment business in April 2018, Eros will soon take steps to align all the interests of shareholders, while refusing to comment or commit on any mergers and/or reverse merger with NYSE-listed parent.
So, if the RIL money will not be pumped into the joint venture by Eros International Plc and kept aside for other purposes, what will the company do with the cash?
Pointing out that the minority stake signals “beginning of a very long-term partnership”, Deshpande told CNBC-TV18, “At the moment there is no immediate use of the cash except that it nicely brings down the net debt of the group and capitalises our balance sheet quite nicely and gives us flexibility if we need cash during movement of structure, etc. So I think it is firepower that it gives us and it gives us alignment. More than the money it aligns us to a very powerful partner.”
Pressed further by journalists on timelines of possible restructuring and re-alignment of shareholders’ interest post a JV with RIL, Deshpande said without committing on any mergers, “There has been a lot of talk on the cards that we need to align all shareholders’ interest at one level. Right now it is a stepped kind of structure. So we are actively looking to see what we can do in that respect, where we align all shareholders at one level…All these things are governed by huge compliance, so I am not at liberty to share anything further on this topic. However, what shareholders can take away is that we are actively working towards aligning the interest of all shareholders at one level.”
Asked about RIL’s investments in another content maker and OTT platform owner Balaji Telefilms and whether the RIL-Eros JV will stop scouting for more partners, Deshpande explained, “I think the industry is quite fragmented and the vision is to try and consolidate it, grow the industry together using Eros’ expertise in the content space. So, the idea is to make all kinds of content…[and] so it is not a limiting kind of a partnership, it is a very blank canvas wide partnership.
“We want to work with every content maker that is out there— [what] specific plans RIL has, I will be able to share post April. But wearing the Eros hat right now, I think the plan is to make as much compelling content as possible, keep content prices under control, partner and try and grow the market. We are open to all kinds of ideas, all kinds of collaborations [and] not just with content partners, but with other OTT partners. So I think the idea is to put one and one together and make it eleven.”
Dwelling on the financial performance of Eros International in FY’19, Deshpande, who’s had leadership stints at Star and Zee earlier, said, “I think scale is what you can expect. I think we can grow in the next year by another 15-20 per cent because the slate will expand, we can double the slate with half the money. So I think it is a great outlook, it is a win-win outlook for both companies.”
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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
