Maya, BrilIP to co-produce Aditi Adventures animation IP

Maya Entertainment Ltd (MEL), a premier animation studio, and BriliP Edutainment India Pvt Ltd, a new children-centric intellectual property company, have announced a partnership to adapt ‘The Aditi Adventures’, a popular series of children’s books by UK-based Indian fabulist Suniti Namjoshi, for animation.

The series adds to a slate of service and IP work totaling over Rs 30 crore, making MEL one of the fastest growing animation businesses. MEL recently bagged work on a new season of the iconic ‘Noddy’ series, one of the most beloved characters in the world of children’s literature. On the IP side, MEL’s first high-end theatrical feature, ‘Ramayana - The Epic’, is nearing completion, and it is also developing ‘The Magic Racquet’, a series in alliance with Leander Paes’ sports company.

Commenting on the venture, Jai Natarajan, EVP, Maya Entertainment, said, “We were drawn to the project due to its core fantasy element, modern themes, and worldwide locations. Animation is a natural medium for this series and will involve an investment of Rs 8 crore. Our goal is to be known internationally for our taste and sensibility. In fact, the first Aditi book has also been selected to be read aloud on a children’s programme on BBC Radio 7 in the UK early next year.”

Jayaram Rajaram, MD, BriliP, commented, “Our focus is to identify great children-centric properties and content with positive values and to adapt these properties into various mediums to entertain and educate children. Our co-production deal with Maya for the Aditi Series is a significant step towards adapting extremely high quality Indian content for the global markets. BriliP is also creating an innovative story and animation based life-skills training program (BrilSkills) for schools and will be using the Aditi franchise as a core part of this curriculum.”

‘The Aditi Adventures’, published by Tulika Publishers, follows a group of young adventurers comprising a girl called Aditi and her friends Monkeyji, Beautiful the Elephant and Siril the ant. The adventurers hate fighting, but fight with courage when they have to. Their adventures take them all over the world – to the Great Barrier Reef, to the heart of London, to Hong Kong, to Mt. Vesuvius and to other places. With their dragon friends, Goldie and Opal, they encounter strange situations and extraordinary creatures. Eight books are in print and five more are in the pipeline, forming a ready base for multiple episodes of a series.