Now that’s what you call conviction, and that’s what you call putting your money where your mouth is!
Mumbai based ‘Shemaroo’, the company that has been consistently producing and releasing animated theatrical features, year after year is back with its latest feature ‘Super K’ And this time, Shemaroo is back with a bigger bang!
Super K is made for the global audience and very interesting and positive news for the Indian animation Industry is that it has already found buyers and stuck acquisition deals across several continents and will be having a full fledged global release, albeit in a phased manner.
First up is the India release, with dates in the midst of being finalized but most likely to be mid November.
Speaking to AnimationXpress.com, Shemaroo’s Supremo for the Animation Business, Smita Maroo shared, “The USP of Super K is that it is a superhero film and every child dreams of being a super hero, one just needs to focus on their own special power and they can find a superhero within themselves. The other unique thing about this film is online release of ‘Super K’, which is the first-of-its-kind in the Indian entertainment business and a breakaway concept away from the confines of theatrical releases. Children’s films are far and few in themselves but empowering and allowing parents and kids to watch ‘Super K’ in the comfort of their homes or anywhere anytime at their convenience will bring entertainment to peoples’ doorsteps. ‘Super K’ will open up new avenues for the Indian Animation Industry and also set up new standards in providing entertainment in online digital media.”
“We understand animation creation marketing and distribution. As far as India is concerned, there is so much demand for good content. The storytelling ability and international quality production capabilities exist. The challenge is only to bridge the distribution gaps to reach the target animation consuming audience, the kids and families. Once that happens, you will get to see many more good films. We look to bring unique entertainment genres across the various platforms that audience will love to consume”, says Smita.
Vijay Bhanushali of Shemaroo says, “Super K is the story of a very unlikely super hero. The 95 minutes full length 3D CGI animated feature film will entertain the entire family”.
Unlike most superheroes, who are born, ‘Super K’ is created and a goof-up causes him to turn out to be a freak unable to control his powers. As Badmess along with the evil Dr. Ozox plans to take over Dreamzone, ‘Super K’ has to team up with his friends and also learn to control his powers. The story of ‘Super K’ explores his magical escapades in Dreamzone, with an interesting mix of action, comedy and fantasy.
As far as the treatment of the film is concerned, Shemaroo has kept it very international and not specific to any region or culture. The multi-dimensional characters and the vibrant colour palette make the film stand apart and appealing to the children.
Speaking about the challenges for animation film business in India and the way Shemaroo is going about conquering them, Smita Maroo shared, “One of the biggest challenges for the animation business has been matching the demand with quality supply and distribution challenges in reaching the target audience namely children and parents.”
“Our strategy for this film is based on the fact that India is a young nation with over 64% of its citizens below the age of 34 years with literacy rate of around 80% amongst the age group of 15-24 years. (Source: IAMAI – 2010). With 81 million internet users and 548.7 million active mobile phone users, the internet has had a magical effect on consumers’ viewing habits and the proliferation of devices has altered their media and entertainment consumption behavior. While the traditional media offered passive consumption, new media facilitates interactivity, accessibility and availability. A key aspect of new media is the shift in focus from functional innovation to humanization of technology, bringing the ability to connect with consumers in more meaningful ways. (Source: FICCI- KPMG Report 2011). We are hoping that the digital platform shall pave a new way for the original IP creators from the Indian Animation Industry”, Smita further added.
Vijay Bhanushali shared, “Shemaroo understands both the big screen format, movie business and animation. It has a better synergy to get a product out in the market. Its aim is to get good and interesting stories out there. Animation in India is very new, not more than a dozen feature length products have been released. The fact that more movies are coming out does not lead to competition. In fact, it‘s good that the audience is getting a chance to sample and start showing preferences for stories. Rather, animation films are competing against the live action medium”.
“As far as India is concerned, there is so much demand for good content. The storytelling ability exists. It‘s just a learning curve for everyone to reach to the audience, to understand what the kids or the theatrical audience wants. Once that happens, you will get to see many more good films. As animation has just started, so mythological is the flavour of the season. It takes a long time to market an animation film. With the mythological genre, the audience is already aware of the characters so the battle is half won. However, as the audience matures, there will be a shift from mythology to other subjects. Super K is one such attempt towards such a shift”, Vijay concluded.
