MxMIndia

Tag: Sharad Devarajan

  • It's a new multi-platform entertainment franchise built on Near

    Mila Kunis & Sharad Devarajan launch Armored Kingdom

    By Our Staff

     

    Actor, Producer, and Web3 innovator Mila Kunis and superhero creator Sharad Devarajan announced the launch of Armored Kingdom Media Inc., a new multi-platform, global entertainment universe spanning a Web3 trading card game, digital comics, animation and film. To commemorate the launch, a limited-edition Issue #0 comic book NFT will be available for free, for seven days at ArmoredKingdom.com.

     

    Devarajan is the Founder of Graphic India, the leading comic, animation and creative studios and this will be the first comic and game championed by Kunis, an avid TCG/MMO gamer, who has previously launched a number of projects in the Web3 animation space.

     

    Said Kunis: “I lost a good part of my youth to gaming, from World of WarCraft to Settlers of Catan. The moment I dove into Web3, I saw the opportunity to create an immersive universe where blockchain technology deepens the gaming experience and makes it more personal and immersive for every fan. Armored Kingdom will allow gamers to relate to their characters and gear in a revolutionary way, and we can’t wait to share more of that with you very soon.”

     

    Added Devarajan: “Armored Kingdom has all the elements of a great fantasy meets sci-fi story that will take a global audience into a place of wonder. At Graphic India, our mission is to partner with the greatest creators and technologies in the world to innovate the future of storytelling across Web3 and the metaverse. Mila Kunis has been an early pioneer and leader in this space and it’s an incredible honor to collaborate with her. Armored Kingdom will push Web3 technology further than ever before, so we’ve turned to NEAR to help us make it a reality. Their expertise with community management, championing of the creative sector, and its carbon-neutral-user-friendly development platform won us over.”

     

    Founded with Lindsey McInerney and Lisa Sterbakov, Armored Kingdom is built on NEAR – a carbon-neutral, community-driven blockchain.

     

  • Graphic India is a character entertainment company focused on creating leading characters, comics and stories through animation, comics and digital platforms

    Graphic India beefs up management team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Narendra Deshpande

    Graphic India, a leading character entertainment organization has announced the appointment of animation executive Narendra Deshpande as Senior Vice President of Production and Animation. Deshpande will work closely with Graphic India’s Co-Founder & CEO, Sharad Devarajan and its EVP, Creative, Jeevan J. Kang, to scale up Graphic’s original animation production across television and digital platforms.

     

    “Narendra brings to Graphic India two decades of animation production experience and excellence and it’s our great honor to have him join us in our mission to create original Indian characters and stories that captivate the imaginations of audiences around the world,” commented Devarajan. “With an ever increasing number of new animated shows in production and development, Narendra will oversee our production scale-up and build a world-class execution pipeline.”

     

    “After an enriching journey of 20 years in the animation industry, having learned a lot from each and every experience, I am now joining Graphic India with new hope and a new dream. With the intention to be more perfect, acquire more knowledge with open arms and aim to achieve great heights,” added Desphande. “With my dedication, devotion to my work and a bagful of new ideas, I had heard that if you ‘Choose a job you love, you will never have to work a day in your life’, and that’s exactly what I am going to do as pleasure in work gives perfection. I believe in hard work to get desired results. No gains without pains. Looking forward to a fantastic time at Graphic India.”

     

    Graphic India is a character entertainment company focused on creating leading characters, comics and stories through animation, comics and digital platforms. The company’s animated shows include, “Chakra The Invincible,” which Graphic India created with superhero icon, Stan Lee (Co-Creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers) and appears on Cartoon Network/Toonami as well as the Angry Birds ToonsTV platform where it has reached over 40 million views around the world. Phantom Films recently announced a partnership with Graphic for a live-action Bollywood film based on Chakra, to be directed by acclaimed filmmaker, Vikramaditya Motwane.

     

    Graphic India is also working with acclaimed actor, Amitabh Bachchan on the launch of his first animated series, “Astra Force”, which will appear on Disney Channel later this year.

     

  • Company Plans To Aggressively Expand Its Launch of Character Entertainment Brands Through New Digital Comics & Animation Platform

    Graphic India gets extra funding from new players

    By A Correspondent

     

    Graphic India announced that it closed a new seed-financing round of $2.8 Million. The new financing round was led by existing investor, CA Media LP, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, LLC (TCG), and NYC based, media investment group, Start Media, founded by Michael Maher. The new round also included prominent angel investors, such as Backflip Studios founders, Julian Farrior and Dale Thoms.

     

    Graphic India produces digital comics and animation to create new character franchises targeting the 550 million Indian youth under the age of 25 and the 850 million person mobile market as they leapfrog directly to smartphones & tablets. In the same way that America created superheroes and Japan created anime, Graphic India is tapping into the creativity of India to launch a new wave of enduring characters and mythic heroes for audiences in India and around the world.

     

    Sharad Devarajan, CEO & Co-Founder of Graphic India commented, “The next Steven Spielberg, JK Rowling, Stan Lee or Miyazaki exists somewhere in India, ready to change the world through their stories. At Graphic, we will find these breakthrough talents and give them the resources and the digital platform to share their creativity with the world. This new financing will expand our content offering and allow us to create India’s premiere mobile platform for comics and animation – engaging and building a passionate community of superhero, sci-fi and mythology fans through Graphic’s content and characters.”

     

    Over the next few months, Graphic India will unveil a number of digital products and apps in India to build direct engagement with the growing community of passionate comic book and animation fans in the Country. The new digital offering will release hundreds of free digital comics and digital videos in English, Hindi, Tamil and other local Indian languages.

     

    “We have always believed in the immense potential of Graphic India. An amalgamation of talent and creativity, the characters, heroes and stories from Graphic India, tap into the unique ingenuity and culture of India, but appeal to audiences worldwide. With smart phones increasingly becoming the preferred medium of entertainment for the youth and the ever increasing consumer reach of mobiles in India, the move towards expanding their offering and creating content for smart phones & tablets will give them with a significant boost and enthuse the next generation of comic buffs.” commented Rajesh Kamat, COO Chernin Asia Media Group.

     

    Michael Maher, Founder and CEO of Start Media added, “Graphic continues to execute its plan to create globally commercial intellectual property and to use it to overcome barriers to new markets both in India and elsewhere around the globe. We at Start Media are pleased to be a part of Graphic’s continued and rapid growth.”

     

    Since its launch, Graphic locked up licensing deals and content partnerships with Cartoon Network, Rovio, YouTube, Mandalay, Lionsgate and others to license its digital comics and characters into television and film.

     

  • Liquid Comics co-founder Sharad Devarajan has been appointed CEO of the new company

    Chernin Group’s CA Media invests in Graphic India

    By A Correspondent

     

    CA Media, LP, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, LLC (TCG), has announced that it has acquired a large minority stake in Graphic India, a comic book and animation company focused on creating mythological and superhero characters, comics and stories for the Indian youth market, published across mobile and online platforms.

     

    Launched last year by media entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan, Gotham Chopra and Suresh Seetharaman as a subsidiary of US comic book company Liquid Comics, Graphic India will now be jointly owned by Liquid Comics and CA Media. Mr Devarajan will be appointed CEO of Graphic India and remain Executive Chairman of Liquid Comics. As part of the transaction, Liquid Comics will contribute one of the world’s largest and highest-quality comic book libraries based on Indian characters to Graphic India. In addition to CA Media’s investment, it will partner with Graphic India to provide industry expertise and create iconic franchises for Graphic’s characters through multiple media within the Indian entertainment ecosystem.

     

    Rajesh Kamat, CEO of CA Media India, stated, “Following our successful entry into the traditional media space, we are very pleased that Graphic India marks our first investment in the digital space.CA Media’s aim is to create an ecosystem of diversified assets across media, where each asset not only unlocks its own value, but also adds to the rest of the portfolio. Graphic India is a valuable addition to this mix, especially in the youth segment. We look forward to working with the company to create heroes that inspire the next generation of Indian consumers.”

     

    Paul Aiello, CEO of CA Media, added, “CA Media is thrilled to be partnering with the talented Liquid Comics team, headed by Sharad Devarajan. We look forward to building the business with Sharad and his team, an amazingly gifted group of content creators and phenomenal operators.”

     

    Mr Devarajan said, “India is home to some of the most creative minds in the world, and we believe that the next Batman, Harry Potter, Pokemon or The Avengers, can come from this country. At Graphic India, we intend to find, nurture and promote a new generation of creators to transform the world with their stories. The team at The Chernin Group and CA Media bring an unparalleled level of experience in entertainment and we could not imagine a better partner to work with to launch this mission.”