Mumbai: Cosmos-Maya the animated studio known for hit animated shows like Motu Patlu and Selfie with Bajrangi have had a more than promising 2020. In the face of paradigm shifts in the macroeconomic scenario and the meaning of the workplace itself, the studio has consistently churned out one offering after the other throughout 2020, for TV as well as streaming OTT.
The studio started their IP library with 1 show in 2012. Currently they have witnessed a growth in scale where they have 5 high-performing IPs just within a span of 6 months since March 2020. This has seen the studio capture above 60% of the Indian animated market space.
In May, they released Bapu, a show based on Mahatma Gandhi and his principles airing on Disney Channel and Zee5. The show has been immensely successful and is already scheduled for the 2nd season. During the auspicious season of Ganesh Chaturthi, they released Gadget Guru Ganesha, a show about a boy’s friendship with the revered God figure and how together they solve various problems using mystical gadgets. Other than these brand-new shows they released Season 2 of Guddu, a 3D show centered around a circus lion and his posse released on Disney TV and Zee5.
The studio released their 4th new IP, Titoo on Pogo in July-end.It has been the top-performing kids entertainment TV show for 4 weeks consistently since release. Come Diwali, Cosmos-Maya will be releasing their latest IP this year, LambujiTinguji in partnership with Turner on Cartoon Network.
Other than new projects, the studio transitioned one of their most powerful IPs, Selfie With Bajrangi to Disney+Hotstar, the OTT giant that established their presence in India in April. The platform ordered 234 episodes of the show being touted as the next biggest thing for the studio after their vastly successful characters Motu Patlu. While increasing the scale of their content umbrella, CM has also ensured creative diversity in the kind of topics addressed and the genres defined by their characters. Each show has something different to offer, talking to kids in an entertaining, non-pedantic manner.
Every major industry including media have suffered logistical and performance setbacks in 2020. In light of that, releasing 5 IPs with multiple international projects on the side is a feat unlike any other for Cosmos-Maya, especially considering that few production houses have made any fresh releases in 2020.
Commenting on this, CEO Anish Mehta said, “We are really glad to have found a way to work around the rigours of the lockdown and be able to provide new content as was planned for the current year. All content that we have made available in 2020 was born out of production plans drawn up as far back as 2019, and the real credit for our well-timed content delivery goes to our entire team of creative and executive professionals who handled the shift from office to home smoothly and collectively ensured that we stay as close to our release plans as possible.We are proud of our drive to consistently cater to kids’ entertainment requirements and have them enjoying while staying at home for this extended period. Additionally, I would like to deeply thank our OTT and broadcaster partners for the relationship they have endeavored to maintain with us, and the manner in which they modeled their ‘stayhome, stay safe’ campaigns around our characters, which stands testament to our promise of sustainability – to keep on delivering clean, enjoyable entertainment for kids and their families.”