Film Production
Jagran Film Festival returns to Delhi with 12th edition celebrating cinema
Mumbai: The 12th edition of the Jagran Film Festival (JFF), the world’s largest travelling film festival, is set to begin in Delhi from 5-8 December at Siri Fort Auditorium. Organised by the Jagran Prakashan Group and inaugurated by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, this year’s festival promises an unparalleled celebration of cinematic excellence, cultural diversity, and storytelling.
JFF 2024 features an extraordinary lineup of 292 films selected from an impressive pool of 4,787 submissions. Representing 111 countries and 78 languages, the festival highlights its commitment to making good cinema for everyone. Over the next 100 days, JFF will travel through 18 cities, including Prayagraj, Varanasi, Raipur, Ranchi, and Mumbai, ensuring that quality cinema reaches diverse audiences across India.
The Delhi chapter will host renowned personalities like Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Bajpayee, Bhumi Pednekar, Taapsee Pannu, Mukesh Chhabra, and Bhuvan Bam. Directors such as Anil Prakash Joshi and Onir will also attend. The festival will showcase 102 remarkable films, spanning shorts, documentaries, and OTT content from 29 countries. Highlights include Kiran Rao’s Oscar entry “Laapataa Ladies” and Shashi Chandrakant Khandare’s Marathi film “Gypsy”.
The festival will host 17 premieres, including five world premieres, seven Asia premieres, and five Indian premieres. Classics like Shyam Benegal’s Manthan will feature alongside panel discussions and workshops. Kapur will be honoured with a retrospective, and Bajpayee will discuss his journey in a special session. Aspiring actors can attend Mukesh Chhabra’s session on breaking into cinema, while Rahul Rawail and Sudhir Mishra will lead thought-provoking discussions on modern filmmaking.
Jagran Prakashan Ltd, SVP, Basant Rathore emphasised JFF’s mission: “The Jagran Film Festival has become a cherished platform for celebrating the transformative power of cinema. This season, we are thrilled to showcase 102 films across 34 languages and 29 countries, ensuring quality cinema reaches Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. JFF remains committed to fostering meaningful conversations about the art of storytelling.”
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
