Mumbai based Shemaroo Entertainment has been one of the most consistent players in the Indian Animation Feature space producing, releasing and marketing a new animated feature film every year since 2007.
Shemaroo‘s moves of late have become rather swashbuckling and there is reason behind the swing in its step. The company has cracked a North American distribution acquisition deal for Super K and other territory deals are also in the pipeline. (watch out for an exclusive interview with Shemaroo‘s Smita Maroo on the same coming soon on animationxpress.com)
Also, In a unique 1st, Super K, the latest feature by Shemaroo is being premiered online on Yahoo Movieplex on 11.11.11 and will be made accessible to millions of viewers free of cost. This Digital Distribution focus comes with the rationale of reaching out to most number of audiences as possible and given that most animated feature films in India don‘t get more than a 100 screens with couple of shows a day per screen, an Online distribution model is a winning bet that Shemaroo which is already amongst India‘s largest integrated digital entertainment distribution companies‘ has made. Reaching the movie to a larger audience base and then revenue realization through sales, syndication and distribution across various platforms is the business mode.
Not taking a breather, the company which is keen on doing whatever it takes to build and sustain the Indian Animation Ecosystem has next entered into a tie up with Mumbai based Zee Institute of Creative Arts for the promotion of Super K. While the tie up is focused on promotion, there is a possibility that it could evolve into a lot more collaboration including a feature film pipeline.
In this interview Shemaroo‘s Smita Maroo, Producer of Super K, Prabhanjan Chappar, Business Head at Zee Learn and Vijay S Bhanushali Director of Super K talk about Shemaroo‘s tie up with Zica for the promotion of Super K.
Commenting upon the current objectives of the tie up, Shemaroo‘s Smita Maroo shared, ” We are releasing Super K online on Yahoo Movieplex. Its a digital animated film, for digital native consumers on a digital platform. We are very happy that very strong brands and institutes like ZICA have come forward to support our initiative and take this film further towards the audiences. Partnering with brands which belong to the animation ecosystem is not just about the number of eyeballs that the association brings to the film, but its also about creating solidarity and working relationships across the value chain ”
ZICA‘s Prabhanjan Chappar shared, “Its the 1st time ever that we have tied up with Shemaroo which is a leader in integrated media distribution. Zica is excited to join hands because we have always been involved in pioneering efforts and our vision matches with Shemaroo in the sense that we too want to build a partnerships across the value chain and a better ecosystem.
“This is just the 1st step that we have taken together.Soon u will see Shemaroo and us announcing building up of platforms for animation film-makers and talent. Also for its own feature film pipeline, Shemaroo consistently needs talented animators and we are working together on talent pool grooming too for Shemaroo. Incubation may also be on the cards” he added.
“Animation movies are niche in india and they need enough support to reach the consumer. We have a student base of 3000 students, it will be showcased to students across various centers, and as it is an online platform, distribution and access is much easier.” he further added.
Vijay Bhanushali, the director of the movie added, ” My life cycle started with ZICA, followed by ZIMA and now of course at Shemaroo. I am so happy that when my first film is releasing it has ZICA as a partner too.” –
The approach taken in the making of this movie is that we wanted to make sure that our film connected with audiences, so we thought of meeting them in their comfort zone online. They can watch it on any device that has broadband, be it in their by connecting a laptop via hdmi with their own home theater system, on their tablets, desktops, netbooks and several other devices. And most amazingly its all free for the consumer. And since it is available for free viewing online, it also acts as an anti piracy measure though that is not the main focus”.
Smita Maroo explaining the rationale of going straight for an online premiere and Jumping the Theatrical step shared, ” With online I am hoping, that my film, my characters and my brand will reach millions of kids and viewers. Consumption patterns are changing, kids are more media savvy, internet savvy and this is where we want to be, accessible to the consumer at their will.”
On being asked what about revenues with the movie being free to view online, she commented,” Its free to the end consumer online on yahoo movieplex where it will stream, the online model is advertising based and the revenues get generated through this model.”
While Maroo did not mention this specifically, she did hint that the cost of P&A (Print and Advertising) anyways eats up most of theatrical revenues if the film releases on a small number of screens across a small number of shows. Releasing a movie online is an idea whose time has come and Connecting with audiences any time, any place, across multiple devices and platforms is the new mantra that Shemaroo is betting on.
And the Tie up with Zica too definitely shows that Shemaroo wants to play a major role in being a hub in the Indian animation and digital content ecosystem!
Bravo!