Event Coverage
Film industry needs to live in tight budgets to lure investors
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MUMBAI: Having squandered the capital that it raised over the last few years, the Indian film industry is facing tough times as it prepares to swing into growth after two years of slump.
Suffocated with high costs, limited stars and poor content, the time has arrived for the industry to live in tight budgets, introduce processes and be transparent if it wants to lure back investors.
“The truth is that we blew it up,” said Kaleidoscope Entertainment managing director Bobby Bedi, who has used organised funding for his films. “As bank financing opened up, we became very greedy and some even doubled their budget projections so that they could do the movie with debt. We out-priced ourselves and fell sick in the process.”
The film industry has seen negative growth for two straight years and fell 6.7 per cent to Rs 83 billion in 2010, according to the latest KPMG report released at Ficci-Frames.
Bedi urged the industry to follow transparency in reporting profitability of film ventures, adopt processes and invest money in a responsible manner.
“For any of the business models to work, a public-oriented system which will tell us the reality of our profitability numbers has to be set up. Unless processes are built, none of the traditional or innovative ways of funding will work. The investor is the supplier of our oxygen. We need to respect that,” said Bedi.
Goldman Sachs India vice president for media and entertainment Nirvaer Sidhu said investors were looking at mitigation of risks for alignment of interests with project promoters, simpler business models and desired intermediaries to manage the interests of producers and studios.
For the period 2004-06, $6 billion were raised for films at the global level. The market has dried up since 2008 and different forms of film funds have evolved.
“The Indian market is very different and there are very few players of scale. Investors look for production houses that release more than one film a year,” said Sidhu.
Avendus Capital managing director and chief executive Ranu Vohra stressed on the need for creating an ecosystem similar to that of Silicon Valley.
“There are opportunities for new funding models, like investment from family offices and slate financing. The first generation family businesses that have excess of $100 million can look at films as an alternative asset class. We need to create a Silicon Valley kind of environment here as the entertainment industry is a high-risk, high-return business,” said Vohra.
A lucrative and untapped financing option is securitisation of intellectual property rights (IPR).
“Intangible assets like movie libraries and even music libraries can become a means to raise capital. Securitisation of IPR is a well established option in the West and it is only a matter of time before Indian companies realise the value of a movie or a music library,” said Yes Bank EVP, media and entertainment, Karan Ahluwalia.
Event Coverage
Anime India announces Amazon MX Player as co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata 2026
MUMBAI: Riding high on the success of its blockbuster Mumbai debut, Anime India is accelerating its nationwide expansion with the announcement of Amazon MX Player as the co-presenting partner for Anime India Kolkata. The partnership marks a significant step forward in the festival’s mission to deliver large-scale, accessible, and fan-first anime experiences across the country.
Scheduled for 14 and 15 February 2026 at the iconic Biswa Bangla Mela Prangan, Anime India Kolkata will launch the first regional chapter of what is set to be a year-long, multi-city tour. As the curtain-raiser for the 2026 circuit, the Kolkata edition aims to fuse the energy of global Japanese pop culture with India’s fast-growing community of anime, manga, and pop-culture fans.
A household name in digital entertainment, Amazon MX Player brings unmatched reach and cultural relevance to the Anime India platform. With its expanding focus on anime and youth-driven content, Amazon MX Player’s involvement as co-presenting partner reinforces Anime India’s vision of making anime culture more inclusive breaking barriers of language, geography, and accessibility to connect with fans nationwide.
Anime India Kolkata 2026 will showcase cosplay competitions, interactive zones led by the Indian Gunpla Community, India-39 Vocaloid Community, The Japan Curry, and Adda-o-Otaku by The Otaku Guild. Fans can join tournaments across fighting games, Pokémon VGC, and more. Acclaimed Japanese director Susumu Mitsunaka (Haikyu!!) will attend as guest of honour, appearing in panels and live sessions. Positioned as an immersive celebration of fan culture and industry collaboration, the Kolkata edition marks the beginning of Anime India’s nationwide expansion.
Sharing their perspective on the partnership, Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani expressed, “Anime in India has evolved from a niche interest into a mainstream cultural movement, driven by an increasingly engaged and passionate fanbase. At Amazon MX Player, our focus is on expanding access by bringing anime to audiences across the country for free and in multiple local languages. Our association with Anime India reflects our commitment to supporting the growth of anime in India and deepening connections with fans, while continuing to build Amazon MX Player as a trusted destination for free, high-quality entertainment.”
“Anime India Kolkata is a celebration of how anime has grown beyond entertainment into a powerful cultural and creative force. By bringing fans, creators, and industry leaders onto one shared platform, the festival is helping define the future of pop culture in India,” said Anime India co-founder and director Neha Mehta.
The debut edition of Anime India 2025 in Mumbai attracted over 29,000 fans, quickly cementing its status as a landmark celebration of anime and Japanese pop culture. Riding on this overwhelming response, the Kolkata chapter is projected to draw more than 40,000 visitors across two days, positioning it as one of the biggest anime conventions ever held in eastern India.
Anime India is focused on bringing together fans from across the country to create a truly pan-India celebration of anime, manga, cosplay, gaming, and Japanese culture. With plans to expand into four key metropolitan hubs in 2026—east (Kolkata), north (Delhi), west (Mumbai), and south (Hyderabad)—the festival seeks to deliver globally benchmarked experiences while supporting and uplifting creators, artists, and fan communities throughout India.
