Film Production
Steps to encourage ease of doing film business under way
NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting secretary Ajay Mittal has said the Ministry has initiated a series of measures to promote ease of doing business and reiterated government’s commitment to work closely with the film industry.
Mittal was speaking at a function where megastar Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated the new office premise of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in Mumbai yesterday.
A number for film personalities including former CBFC Chairman Anupam Kher, Ramesh Sippy, Raveena Tandon, Sonu Sood, Pritish Nandy, Manmohan Shetty, Gajendra Chauhan, Kiran Shantaram, Mukesh Sharma were among those present.
CBFC, which had been functioning from the Bharat Bhavan in the White House Complex on Walkeshwar Road since 1950s, was facing severe space constraint against drastic increase in work load.
Mumbai, being the centre of the Hindi, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Punjabi film industry, accounts for nearly 60% of all certification work of CBFC. During 2015-16, it certified over 11,000 films of various duration including 787 Indian feature films and 690 foreign films for theatrical release in India.
Faced with an acute space constraint, lack of parking facility for visitors, CBFC moved a proposal for allocation of space in the Films Division Complex for a modern, digitally enabled office. It may be recalled that the online film certification system of CBFC was launched by Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi last week.
Ramesh Sippy welcomed the online film certification system saying it would facilitate quicker certification of films.
The Civil Construction Wing of Prasar Bharati has refurbished the new office, which houses the chambers of the Chairman, CEO as well as the Mumbai Regional Office. CBFC, besides its own preview facilities, can now utilize additional preview theatres of Films Division as well to quicken the process of film certification.
The Films Division Complex now houses the offices of Films Division, Children’s Film Society of India, CBFC and also the upcoming National Museum of Indian Cinema, which is expected to promote synergy among different institutions of the I &B Ministry.
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
