Neela Film Productions’ founder and the creator of the popular Indian TV show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (TMKOC), Asit Modi is capitalising on the success of the show by expanding its reach across various mediums. Recently, in addition to the previously launched animated series for young audiences and rhymes on YouTube, Modi has released two mobile games based on the show’s characters.
Recognising the immense potential of this powerful IP, Modi told AnimationXpress, “I want to make TMKOC entertaining in every possible medium – games, rhymes, animated shows!” Launched on Android and iOS, his two games – Run Jetha Run and Bhide Scooter Race – are based on the live-action TV show’s characters Jethalal Gada and Atmaram Tukaram Bhide respectively. Due to the popularity of the characters, the team decided to make a game with them. The mannerisms, expressions and background music of the game’s characters are retained to make the games look as close to the show as possible. According to Modi, what differentiates these hyper-casual games from the rest is the ‘comedy’ element.
These free to play games are developed by Neela Mediatech, a division of Neela Film Productions, and are monetised through Google ads. Modi shared that they may introduce a subscription model if they see an opportunity in the future. The division is working on two more games based on the show’s characters Popatlal and Goli.
Talking about his venture into the animation space with the show Taarak Mehta Kka Chhota Chashmah (TMKCC) that is airing on Sony YAY!, Modi mentioned that it was created for the young audience of the live-action series. As live-action as a medium has certain limitations, it prompted the makers to venture into animation with TMKCC.
For preschoolers, the brand now has Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah Rhymes/Baalgeet on YouTube – also made with the show’s characters. The channel has the translated version of English, Marathi and Bengali rhymes in Hindi language. The makers plan to release videos in more Indian languages. “India has so many languages but we have rhymes only in English. Through our rhymes, we want the kids to come closer to their mother tongues,” Modi shared. He said they have received a great response on the videos from India as well as abroad. In a span of six months, the YouTube channel has managed to garner 382K subscribers, with some videos clocking over four million views. “Animation is the future, it is always going to work,” Modi stated. Harchit Chabra heads the animation division at Neela Film, which is responsible for producing both the series and the rhymes.
“We want to teach kids about the good things. We want to educate them about Indian culture,” he mentioned. Which is why his company has plans to release comic books based on their IP TMKOC. Hinting at what the comics would contain, Modi said, “We don’t want to change the concept of our brand – togetherness, family values, humour and positive thoughts.”
Modi credits the success of TMKOC to the market and consumer behaviour research they put in before launching the serial on TV back in 2008. “There was a time when only saas-bahu shows were running (and working) on TV. So we realised the need to create a show on the day-to-day lives of people.” Apart from this, he believes it is the love of the audience that has kept them going strong all these years.
Since the IP is so popular, Modi does not feel the need to extensively market his new offerings. The newly released games were promoted only on the live-action show and the brand’s social media handles. “We haven’t spent huge amounts of money on marketing. I trust our products [to work well],” he said.
Neela Film Productions is currently in talks with an international studio on revamping the animated series TMKCC. The company has two games in the pipeline, with plans of more. It has launched one animated telemovie and could make a feature film or do a live drama on the IP. About venturing in the metaverse space, Modi commented, “I am excited to be in the digital space. We can do anything. There are no limitations.” He also has plans to leverage the IP to its fullest and plans to launch a licensing and merchandising line as well.
In the west, studios and companies create a 360 degree market around a brand, Modi expressed, “but India is far behind.” With TMKOC, he wants to set a benchmark for other Indian companies to create a well-rounded IP. He concluded by saying, “We must take our brands to the next level. This will help our market grow and eventually benefit the industry.”