Film Production
Mad science meets cinema as Madlab Alpha experiments with bold storytelling
MUMBAI: If a hindi masala movie is the formula, Madlab Alpha wants to break it. In a move that could redefine the future of Indian storytelling, Bodhitree Multimedia, Madlab Films, and Universe of Ideas have joined creative forces to launch Madlab Alpha Private Limited, a first-of-its-kind content studio that promises to rip up the rulebook and write a new one, genre by genre.
Touted as India’s first high-concept content lab, Madlab Alpha isn’t here to play safe. It’s here to play mad in the best possible way. With a pipeline full of cerebral thrillers, speculative dramas, dystopian epics, and even interactive narratives, the studio is aiming at audiences that are over masala and hungry for mind-benders.
At the heart of the initiative is a bold attempt to merge art and algorithm using AI-assisted production workflows and immersive tech to create content that’s not just visually striking but narratively disruptive. Think less assembly line, more alchemy.
But it’s not just about flashy tools. Madlab Alpha wants to be a creative ecosystem nurturing emerging voices, offering mentorship, and cultivating a diverse slate that’s as rooted in local nuance as it is ready for global resonance.
Backing the venture is Bodhitree Multimedia, known for The Gone Game and Class, and Universe of Ideas, born out of D’Artist Talent Ventures. Together with Madlab Films, the trio brings a cocktail of IP experience, genre muscle, and next-gen storytelling ambition.
Madlab Films producers Gaurav Shukla and Abhijeet Khuman added,“With the rise of OTT platforms and global content, audience taste, especially in India, has evolved rapidly. This shift is impacting conventional commercial cinema, as we’re seeing more viewers gravitate towards fresh, bold narratives. It’s high time we acknowledge this change and create stories that speak to this new sensibility. With Madlab Alpha Private Limited, we aim to tell the kind of stories others shy away from merging craft with technology to deliver content that truly resonates. Together, we’re committed to delivering bold, original, and scalable content that speaks to a new generation of viewers.”
D’Artist Talent Ventures and Universe of Ideas founder & CEO Darshana Bhalla added, “At its core, Madlab Alpha Private Limited is about empowering new voices and building a collaborative creator ecosystem. We believe in nurturing and mentoring emerging talent, offering them mentorship, resources, and a platform that values originality, craft, voice, and diverse perspectives on the global stage, fostering a space where originality thrives.”
Talking about the partnership Bodhitree Multimedia Ltd MD Mautik Tolia added, “Madlab Alpha Private Limited represents a bold leap into the future of storytelling. This partnership marks a pivotal evolution in our content strategy, reflecting our commitment to shaping the progress and success of the industry. Together with Gaurav, Darshana, and Abhijeet, we are investing in the future of storytelling one that is bold, disruptive, and unapologetically narrative-first. We’re building more than a studio, that’s agile, and one that is built to scale across formats and geographies.”
With legacy productions already under their belt and a bold slate of future-forward content in the works, Madlab Alpha Private Limited is angling to be India’s cultural petri dish, a place where stories mutate, mutate again, and maybe, just maybe, evolve into something the world hasn’t seen before.
So, if Indian entertainment has long been a well-trodden path, Madlab Alpha is here to carve a few new roads wild, winding, and wonderfully unpredictable.
Film Production
Priyanka Kaur Dhillon joins SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution
A seasoned content dealmaker with 16 years in digital and satellite media joins the Bengali entertainment powerhouse as it pushes into the pan-India music market
Mumbai: Priyanka Kaur Dhillon has made her move. The content acquisitions and commercials veteran, most recently commercial manager at Sony Pictures Networks India, has joined SVF Entertainment as lead for music distribution, stepping into one of the more interesting briefs in regional entertainment right now.
SVF is no ordinary regional label. Over 30 years it has built a formidable legacy in Bengali cinema and music, driven by culturally resonant storytelling and a catalogue that consistently punches above its weight. Its recent success with Chiraiya underlines the point. But the Kolkata-based powerhouse now has its sights firmly set beyond Bengal, most visibly through Legacy, a rap reality series produced in collaboration with hip-hop label Kalamkaar that signals a deliberate push into the pan-India music ecosystem.
Dhillon brings precisely the kind of muscle SVF needs for that expansion. At Sony Pictures Networks India, she led film acquisition and commercials and handled music licensing across the entire satellite network. Before that, she spent nearly 15 years at Hungama, rising to assistant general manager and leading strategic content licensing for the platform’s digital entertainment business, with a particular focus on international markets. Her label relationships span the full roster: Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Believe International, Tunecore, The Orchard and a clutch of smaller aggregators. She has negotiated and closed deals with Hollywood studios, Bollywood production houses and regional content players alike, building pricing models and deal structures off data analysis rather than instinct.
Announcing the appointment, Dhillon said she was “thrilled to begin this journey with an iconic Bengali music label and content powerhouse,” adding that SVF’s “constant drive to push boundaries” was what drew her to the role.
SVF has spent three decades proving that regional does not mean limited. With a sharp commercial operator now steering its music distribution, its bid to go national just got a good deal more serious.
