Sikhya Entertainment eyes diverse film projects for theatres, digital platforms
Sikhya Entertainment, known for acclaimed films, is diversifying its portfolio with theatrical releases and OTT content. They focus on innovative storytelling and partnerships while navigating the changing dynamics of India's video-streaming industry.
Sikhya Entertainment, led by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain and whose documentary The Elephant Whisperers won the Oscar award in 2023, intends to balance theatrical film releases with web originals made for OTT platforms that can stream as part of both SVoD (subscription video-on-demand) and AVoD (advertising video-on-demand) offerings.
In 2024, the production and distribution firm released action film Kill and action thriller series Gyaarah Gyaarah in partnership with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, teen drama series Gutar Gu on Amazon MX Player and Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous, a documentary on the singer for Netflix.
“Sikhya is a production company and creative house that is constantly innovating in every format, be it a docu-short, feature film, mini series, a full-blown series, or a film for OTT,” Monga said in an interview. As far as future projects go, the company is working on a spy-comedy starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan to be co-produced by Dharma Productions, and a family thriller whose cast is yet to be announced. Both these shall be theatrical projects, Monga said.
Sikhya, set up in 2008 and known for acclaimed films like The Lunchbox, and Masaan, has also started work on the next season of Gutar Gu, besides another show with director Saqib Pandor for Amazon MX Player.
Read more: Producers of small films split streaming rights to maximise revenue, ease acquisition costs for OTT platforms
To be sure, the video-streaming industry in India continued its slow but steady trajectory in 2024, with the emergence of a brand-new force after the Disney-Jio merger and the latter’s OTT service JioCinema introducing premium subscription plans.
Most other services operated robust ad-supported tiers and hybrid models to improve margins. Overall, greenlighting and commissioning decisions remained slow, as most platforms tightened their purse strings. However, Monga said their company was well suited to adapt to these changes given its diverse offerings. “We actually have many points of interaction with OTTs, starting with their series people, their documentary teams, feature teams to their acquisitions team for things that go out to cinemas. So we speak to them across the whole spectrum and that is very unique to us. In our universe, there is a lot happening with every platform. Outside of the fact that a couple of them went into mergers and there was a slowdown on that front, we have our hands full with the work that we are doing,” she emphasized.
Strategic partnerships
Last year, Sikhya had announced a partnership with Dharma Productions to produce multiple projects across feature films and digital formats. Their first collaboration, a web series called Gyaarah Gyaarah, streamed on ZEE5. The company has also partnered with Ektaa Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures on films like Kathal and Pagglait, both of which are streaming on Netflix.
While emphasizing that the company is not looking for any more partners, Monga said the deals with Dharma and Balaji both make for a well-oiled machinery that the company would like to service more. Further, Sikhya is keen to take films global and secure international distribution deals. This year, Lionsgate had acquired distribution rights to Kill for North America and the UK, marking one of the rare instances of a Hollywood studio acquiring a Hindi-language film to directly release in the US. Earlier, in 2013, Sony Pictures Classics had picked up all North American rights for distribution of the late Irrfan Khan-starrer The Lunchbox.
“If we find a script that can transcend languages, we do look at it (securing international deals). If there is a project that can complement that kind of distribution, we are very well structured, suited and connected to be able to have that in place,” Monga said.
To be sure, while the Indian theatrical business is increasingly driven by high-budget, big star films, often with action and dramatic visual effects, like Pushpa 2: The Rule, Pathaan, Jawan and others, Sikhya remains committed to investing in content-driven cinema with strong stories.
“I think we have a lot to learn from Malayalam cinema, in that sense (where small budget films continually do well). This (2024) is a year that has told us it’s not about the scale of the film, the audience can sense what is a real movie versus what is a project. Good stories always find their audience, and smaller films like Laapataa Ladies, Kill and 12th Fail have shown us that it’s not about the big names or the big star, it’s about stories that resonate with audiences and people will come to cinemas,” Achin Jain said.
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First Published:1 Jan 2025, 04:24 PM IST
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