Movies
Oddball Motion Pictures gets Rs 250 cr for film production
MUMBAI: Oddball Motion Pictures, founded by filmmaker Nitin Upadhyaya, announced its association with Chanda Group where the latter will be funding a seed capital of up to Rs 250 crore for the feature films and original digital video content that will be exclusively developed and produced by Oddball.
This deal will help the upcoming production house develop feature films, long form and short form content across genres, and over time, a platform of its own.
Speaking on the association, Chanda group managing director Rahul Chanda said, “Indian film & media sector is one of the fastest growing markets and in a country which has an exceptional appetite for information and content, it is about time that this sector is explored as a serious business avenue. This association with Oddball Motion Pictures will help us to power forward in the Industry. They are passionate and developing some great content.”
Upadhyaya said, “All a dream needs is a dreamer. What Chanda group has offered is an unparalleled opportunity to produce and deliver high quality films and world-class entertainment content at an uncompromising scale. Over the past few years a lot of new avenues have cropped up that have taken precedence as the profit centre in the media business than just the classic feature films, an encouraging example being the humongous growth of OTT platforms and content in India. While films will remain our key focus area, we now also plan to expand in the digital domain and venturing into South Indian film industry. We are very thankful for them putting so much trust in a relatively younger organisation like ours and we will forever strive to make them proud.”
This unique collaboration will leverage Upadhyaya’s rich experience in film-making. Under his leadership, Oddball Motion Pictures produced Behen Hogi Teri starring Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Hasan in 2017 and has a great line up of films in 2018. This year it will be producing seven films including the much awaited Emraan Hashmi starrer Captain Nawab. Its slate contains three Hindi and two Marathi films to be released next year.
Chanda group will be exclusively investing in Oddball Motion Pictures for five years, for its developments in the media and entertainment Industry. Its first release will be Gulshan Devaiah, Sagarika Ghatge and Kunal Roy Kapur starrer bilingual thriller Haadsa.
International
Utopai Studios unveils 4K three-minute video generation for PAI platform
New Story Agent and editing tools aim to streamline AI-led filmmaking workflows
MUMBAI: Utopai Studios has announced a major upgrade to its PAI storytelling AI platform, introducing what it claims is an industry-first capability to generate three-minute videos in 4K resolution, alongside enhancements to its Story Agent feature.
The update, rolling out from April 15, expands the platform’s capabilities across the filmmaking process, from early concept development to post-production. The company said the new features are designed to help filmmakers maintain continuity across characters, scenes and visual styles, a key challenge in AI-driven storytelling.
At the heart of the release is a next-generation model that enables more structured narrative development, allowing creators to move more seamlessly from idea to execution. With tools such as multi-shot sequencing and multi-turn editing, the platform aims to give both studios and independent creators greater control over complex storytelling workflows.
Commenting on the launch, Utopai Studios co-founder and CTO Jie Yang said, “The next phase of AI in media will not be defined by isolated tools, but by systems that can carry story, continuity and collaboration across the full creative process.” He added that the update is a step towards enabling more practical, end-to-end narrative development at a professional level.
Echoing this, Utopai Studios co-founder and chief scientific officer Zijian He said, “Generative video is opening the door to a new production model, where creative ambition is less constrained by traditional cost and complexity.” He noted that the platform combines multimodal models with iterative editing to give creators more speed, control and consistency.
The company said PAI is already being used in professional film and television productions, particularly in Hollywood, for tasks such as pre-visualisation, scene design and post-production refinements. The latest update adds features including improved voice options, character consistency, unlimited editing and more flexible asset management.
Utopai also emphasised that its models are not trained on copyrighted material, positioning the platform as a cleaner alternative for creators and rights holders navigating the evolving AI landscape.
As AI continues to reshape content creation, Utopai’s latest push signals a shift from standalone tools to integrated systems, aiming to make high-quality filmmaking faster, more flexible and increasingly accessible.
