One of the loved toons from the Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) comics’ series, Suppandi, is set to jump out from comic strips to the silver screen. ACK Media is producing a stereoscopic three-dimensional animation film, with Suppandi as the main character. The film would hit cinema halls in November 2010.
With a starting budget of about Rs 10 crore, the media house has been working on the project for a year. “The budget is not fixed yet. Our main innovation is that we can do 3-D stereographic films at budgets starting Rs 10 crore. This is a breakthrough. Investment varies depending on the script, number of situations and characters ,etc. The highlight is that for the first time, such a film is being made with an indigenously developed technology,” Samir Patil, chief executive officer, ACK Media, told Business Standard through email.
The 42-year-old media house is trying hard to cut production costs. As part of this, various film-making processes are being run simultaneously, resulting in lower cost by about 10 per cent, sources said. The movie would be released in 100-odd 3-D cinema houses, apart from the regular theatres.
Other details like which characters will be featured in the movie and who will be Suppandi’s voice are still being kept under wraps by ACK. “We are keeping all those details undisclosed at this point and some things have not been decided yet, too,” added Patil.
Last month, AKC had announced the acquisition of a 50-per-cent stake in Mumbai’s Fable Farm Studios for an undisclosed amount. Animation for the Suppandi film is being done by Fable Farm itself. Also, in April it had declared a tie-up with Synqua Games, a mobile game studio, to develop and distribute mobile games based on ACK’s popular characters. Sources in the industry suggest ACK Media might also plan to produce a live action film in the future.