Film Production
Optimystix Entertainment finding creative ways to maintain social distancing on air
MUMBAI: Television shoots that were suspended due to the Covid2019 pandemic have now resumed following the necessary guidelines issued by the Maharashtra government. Sony SAB fans can now rejoice as the shoots for all shows have now resumed and will be back with new episodes soon. On 29 June, Sony SAB's light-hearted family entertainer show Tera Kya Hoga Alia and Balveer Returns started shooting.
Optimystix Entertainment creative head Nikul Desai tells indiantelevision.com that the production house is ecstatic to start shooting. The company is also prepping up for a singing show named Taare Zameen Par for Star Plus and Disney+ Hotstar.
He says that owing to the pandemic filming pattern will be changed. Things will be looked at from the lens of multitasking with people, contestants and the crew. A lot of television work like scripting, dialogues and direction used to happen on the spot. But, that way of working has changed now. A lot of pre-production work with the team and actors are done well in advance.
“Due to various SOP measures and guidelines, we get less number of hours in a shift to complete the shoot. It means the output could be hampered, considering a smaller number of crew and other technicalities,” says Desai.
And we are back.. back to do what we do best..
Entertain you!!#TeraKyaHogaAlia #OnLocation #SafetyFirst #TheShowMustGoOn #PostPandemic #TheNewNormal #BackWithABang #TeamOpti #Unlock1@OptimystixMedia @sabtv pic.twitter.com/yvm4z1oALQ— Optimystix (@OptimystixMedia) June 29, 2020
He also mentions that there won't be major changes in the script of Taare Zameen Par. The company will now also showcase a few stories revolving around the lives of contestants who have been positively or negatively affected by the pandemic.
The first set of the auditions of Taare Zameen Par happened before the lockdown, now the second set of auditions will happen online.
“We are currently figuring out ways to maintain social distancing on the show. Like earlier, judges having a banter, fall over each other or hug contestants and bless them; those will not happen. We are finding out creative means and ways to bring the fun quotient in the show. The idea is to follow all the norms and yet not hamper the emotional side of the show," he shares.
There will be minimal mention of pandemic and lockdown, but the production house is not too keen to mention Covid2019 in its shows as it believes audiences are watching television to refresh their minds. No one likes to be reminded about a pandemic.
For Balveer Returns, VFX, edit team and other technical teams are working from home.
Artists are given scripts in advance to save time and rehearsals are happening over Zoom calls. So, when the actors are on set, they have a fair idea about the shoot and the studio ends up saving some time.
He also points out that actors are travelling with their own vehicles. Apart from that writers, people from post-production are mostly working from home. The production house is also providing sanitised vehicles for people who used to travel by public transport.
There is no fixed date for the telecast as they need to be sure about the banks of the episode. August is a likely period.
Optimystix Entertainment’s lockdown special show Kuch Smiles Ho Jayein… With Alia starring Anusha Mishra and Balraj Syal is off air now. According to Desai, it was a short series with just five episodes as it was the need of the hour. The studio is now focussing on its prime fiction show.
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
