Civic Studios is a global media company with a vision of creating entertainment that drives social impact. Incubated at the MIT Media Lab, USA, it creates authentic stories of change, hope and pride, across formats of film, web series and short-form digital content. Civic Studios develops, finances, produces and co-produces for an Indian and international market with a distribution reach across theatres, film festivals and streaming platforms.
Civic Studios is a women-led production house with a 70% female team, aimed at telling stories that entertain, engage and empower. Civic Studios currently operates out of offices in Mumbai & London.
The studio is behind successful projects like ‘Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust’, ‘Family Aaj Kal’ with Apoorva Arora, ‘Vakeel Babu’, and ‘Ye Saali Naukri’. Their upcoming releases include ‘Little Thomas’ featuring Rasika Dugal and Gulshan Devaiah, with other projects in development. They collaborate with renowned talents like Gurinder Chadha, Pan Nalin, and Disha Rindani. Additionally, the studio operates a popular pop culture brand on Instagram and YouTube with a large following.
In addition to creating content, Civic Studios creates collaborations towards media and impact with support from grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. It partnered in 2023 with Pocket Aces via a strategic investment as well as with the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival towards social impact film awards.
The aim of Civic Studios is to create a global community of creators who want to tell stories that entertain, engage, and empower.
Medianews4u.com caught up with Anushka Shah, founder and CEO of Civic Studios
Q.. What was the gap seen in the market when Civic Studios launched in 2019?
While working as a researcher at the MIT Media Lab, USA, I was exploring the ways in which media creates social impact. In discovering the roots of the entertainment education movement, and the power of stories in impacting peoples’ behaviour and attitudes to the world, I felt there was an untapped opportunity to further narratives on the civic problems plaguing society. More so, Indian audiences were eager to see stories that were authentic, reflecting on-ground realities, and most importantly, provided a sense of change, hope, and pride.
Thus, we launched Civic Studios as a studio focused on creating compelling stories that not just engaged but also empowered audiences with potential solutions on pressing societal issues, right from fake news to gender based violence. Today, Civic Studios has evolved into a global media company rooted in India, aiming not only to raise awareness worldwide about social issues but also to advocate for actionable solutions and a path forward.
Q. What progress has been made so far in terms of engagement?
At Civic Studios, we operate through various dedicated teams focussing on Research, Message Design, Concept and Scripting, Production and Distribution, Audience Testing and Campaign and Advocacy. Each project undergoes meticulous evaluation to ensure it reaches the right audience. Our content has resonated across diverse demographics, igniting conversations, and fostering meaningful civic engagement.
We have witnessed growth in viewership numbers on our Instagram channel where we post some interesting content and have also seen active participation in our campaigns and initiatives. We have prioritised on addressing long standing issues in our country and globally.
Our upcoming December release, ‘Christmas Karma’, written and directed by Gurinder Chaddha, explores issues of race, refugees and immigration. Our recent Sony Liv release ‘Family Aaj Kal’, with Apoorva Arora that addresses class bias, has topped streaming charts and garnered widespread appreciation for its meaningful, lighthearted tone. We ensure our projects don’t stop at a mainstream release, with thoughtfully designed campaigns in partnership with relevant non profits that strive to create on-ground conversations amongst relevant communities. For e.g., Vakeel Babu, streaming on Amazon miniTV, garnered interesting debates across law schools of India on topics of gender sensitivity within the legal fraternity.
Our social change campaigns with key foundations including Jhatkaa, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, Civis Vote, etc. have garnered views and reach over 1.8M on social media platforms. As part of this campaign named Hum Log, one of our Instagram reels with creator ‘KK Create’ led to an increase in 3000+ signatures on Jhatkaa NGO’s initiative about water scarcity in Bengaluru.
Q. Your TG is 18-35. What do they expect from content? Are there any genre preferences?
In India, the youth population has increased significantly, with diverse opinions and voices emerging. We understand their desire for content that not only entertains but also enlightens and that deeply resonates with their lives and anxieties. Our shows ‘Family Aaj Kal’ and also ‘Ye Saali Naukri’ are certainly geared to the younger generation.
As per our understanding, youth today demand authentic, relevant, and fresh narratives that don’t resort to stereotypes. A streaming first generation with exposure to international content, they want Indian stories that are visually arresting, which expand their perspectives, and reflect their rapidly changing life stages into adulthood. Our content slate is geared to resonate across diverse demographics and communities.
Our upcoming film, ‘Little Thomas’, with Gulshan Devaiah and Rasika Dugal, is a wholesome, light, children’s film that will be a fresh family viewing experience. For our Instagram channel, the audience is leaning towards 24-35 year olds, who respond well to our intersection of pop culture and social impact in byte sized, social formats.
Q. Is it a challenge to present serious Civic issues in an entertaining manner that is not preachy?
Presenting serious civic issues in an entertaining manner without being preachy is indeed a challenge, but one we wholeheartedly embrace. The audience can sense when a story is talking down to them, or being too prescriptive. To ensure our content is accessible and resonates with a wider audience, we take an entertainment – first approach with emotive story arcs and relatable, memorable characters that strike a chord.
The intent is not for them to be left with an instruction manual, but more to ask the right questions of themselves, the community, and the societal power structures. When done correctly, a new insight adds to engagement and entertainment to education.
Q. Could you shed light on the revenue model?
Our streaming and theatrical offerings across the Indian and international market form our primary revenue stream. We also explore co-productions with like minded partners with similar entertainment and impact driven codes. We have also diversified with partnerships with select esteemed non profits like Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for research partnerships and short form content campaigns on our Instagram handle. We are also keeping our ears on the ground around emerging streams of animation, gaming, and AI.
Q. How important is research?
If viewers walk away learning something new, or developing a more nuanced perspective of a familiar topic, or empathize with an oft-ignored community’s perspectives, it stays with them for the right reasons. Research is fundamental to our content development process as we believe in the power of research to bring valuable insights to the table and demonstrate that entertainment and social messages can coexist harmoniously.
With dedicated in-house research teams in Mumbai and the UK, we invest significant time and resources into conducting research studies using both quantitative and qualitative methods. These studies delve into the relationship between media and society, trends in representation, audience perceptions, and the broader entertainment ecosystem. By uncovering actionable insights, we are able to share them in interactive, accessible formats. Our research team plays a crucial role in understanding our audience, identifying relevant issues, and crafting narratives that resonate deeply with them.
Q. Could you talk about content that has recently come out that stands out?
Our feature film ‘Schirkoa’ is really something that we feel stands out as unique. It’s an adult animated film based on a dystopian reality questioning authority and highlighting polarisation. The creator and director, Ishan Shukla, is really someone quite visionary and bold in his narratives as well as skill. It’s not common to see adult animation IP developed in India, and he’s spent many years honing his craft.
The film, experimental as it is, has voiceovers from Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap, Piyush Mishra as well as international artists like Golshifteh Farhani. The film premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam this January and was recognized for its incredible uniqueness – it won the NETPAC award for the Best Asian Film.
Q. Has Civic Studios done a lot of work around the Elections?
Yes, Civic Studios have created an entire campaign dedicated to the Legislative assembly elections this year thereby educating and encouraging our fellow citizens. The content published (on Instagram) focuses on themes such as First-Time Voters, Patriotism & Social Change, and Knowing Your Candidate. Previously, for legislative assembly elections, we produced election awareness videos on Pocket Change (YouTube) such as Neta ka job interview, Vote ya chot, Papa ban gaya neta, Nahi karunga vote & more.
Beyond our work around election content, our focus is on the civic activism that is important in between elections to hold governments and leaders accountable.
Q. What kinds of movies are being made?
We have over 15 projects in various stages of development. Our overarching objective remains steadfast: to deliver content that is undeniably entertaining, but which also engages, and empowers our audience. Along with the Christmas musical ‘Christmas Karma’ (directed by Gurinder Chadha and starring Kunal Nayyar, Eva Longoria, Hugh Boneville, Billy Porter and Boy George), family dramedy ‘Family Aaj Kal’ (released on SonyLiv), and kid’s family film ‘Little Thomas’ (starring Rasika Dugal and Gulshan Devaiah), we have ‘Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust’, an Indo-French-German animation feature film with voice overs from Karan Johar, Shekhar Kapur, and Anurag Kashyap. It had its world premiere at International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2024
Schirkoa – In Lies We Trust Review: An Animation Film Of Stunning Power Saibal Chatterjee
Schirkoa In Lies We Trust Review: The film scales a creative high that no Indian animated feature has ever come…where it won the NETPAC award winner for Best Asian Film.
Q. Does Civic Studios work in the branded content area?
Not actively, but there are some select titles now going down the branded route for our long and short form content. Finding a healthy partnership with a brand that wants to support a social cause in an authentic way is an important and powerful way to bring attention to a cause.
Q. How did the partnership with Pocket Aces come about?
We are constantly looking for strategic partnerships that can mainstream socially driven content in the Indian entertainment industry. Pocket Aces fit the bill perfectly with their recent pivot to create more positive content on their digital channels for Indian youth.
Their CEO Aditi Shrisvastava is very committed to consciously rejigging their impact driven offerings. More so, with their expertise in the short form space, they were the right partners to take over the reins for our Youtube channel, Pocket Change, and expand its reach to respond to evolving needs of young Indians today.
