Mumbai: Murty Media, a content production house, is embarking on an initiative to turn the literary works of the renowned author and philanthropist, Sudha Murty, into a captivating animated series titled, ‘Story Time with Sudha Amma.’ The show will feature 52 of the most popular stories from Mrs. Murty’s titles, ‘Grandma’s Bag of Stories’, ‘Grandparents’ Bag of Stories’, and ‘The Magic Drum and Other Favourite Stories.’ The show will be streamed on the YouTube channel, ‘Murty Media’, a dedicated platform to showcase stories by the beloved author.  

Murty is a celebrated Indian author, known for her engaging storytelling that taps into India’s rich cultural heritage while addressing contemporary issues. Her heart-warming children's stories, including ‘Grandparents' Bag of Stories’, ‘Gopi Diaries’, and others have enjoyed remarkable success. Her stories resonate with readers of all ages and have garnered a global fanbase. The animated series “Story Time with Sudha Amma” will be launched in 6 languages – Hindi, English, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu, catering to a diverse audience and making these beloved stories accessible to a wider spectrum of viewers.

‘Story Time with Sudha Amma’ is Murty Media’s flagship animation series. To bring these stories to life, Murty Media has appointed Cosmos Maya, Asia’s leading animation studio, as its animation partner.

Indiantelevison.com in conversation with Megha Tata, CEO, Cosmos Maya on the partnership, the evolving nature of kids content and much more……

Edited excerpts

On Kid's channels, how have they evolved over the years, and the evolution and innovations in kids' content today

I think kids' content consumption has changed over the last few years, especially post the pandemic, TV content by kids is largely consumed but over the last couple of years a lot of the kid's content has been moved to digital as well and I think youtube has been a big gainer for that. A lot of TV broadcasters and even the digital players is changing so that has been a big change in the last 2-3 years.

On animation being an expensive proposition, has it changed over the years in India? When it comes to kids' content, why is it always an animated series, not live-action? Do we see kids engaging more when the content is animated?

One of the cheapest forms of content creation in animation is in India. When you look at the type of content being created globally, the cost of production is much higher as well, but in India, it works in a way where we have to balance the cost. At Cosmos, we have two divisions, one is the domestic division where we work on the domestic content and another one is the international content creation where we deal with international content, the ones that have a huge business in the industry as international projects but outsource ones.

So, the capability and ability to create such content in India at such a price is amazing but again in India you don’t see that type of quality also because of the economic growth function. International ones are able to pay a larger cost according to the international price so that was in terms of other animation now as to why animation for kids and not live action I think in India specifically we still buy one TV at home, and the remote control of the TV is always in the hand of the lady of the house by and large.

The action for kids to get to watch TV is usually with and around family mostly live action so that exposure is already there so when the child wants to watch his preferred content then it’s always animation so that is why it’s generally preferred to watch content in animation by kids also it has the highest shelf life unlike live action which starts looking dated over a period of time but animation is evergreen like you can still watch Tom and Jerry today.

On the animation industry in India?

Over the last 8-10 years the industry has moved dramatically in a positive trajectory and has players in the industry who have worked really hard and even the government to bring in policies to support animation and help the industry. It’s a journey and is definitely on the right path of growth and everyone in the industry is hoping that in the coming years, it will only grow further.

On the growth of digital content and the viewership of kids' channels

As I mentioned above the content is transitioning from TV to digital so those things are there and then it’s about the content eventually about how the content can remain intact and focused whatever the medium, TV or not. Overall, I see there is a shift in conversations from TV to digital but neither will at all, I think both will co-exist.

On Cosmos Maya getting into a partnership with Murty Media, the strategy behind this, and the growth trajectory of the company in the next few years

Murty Media is a company which is headed by Mrs Murty’s daughter-in-law, Aparna Krishnan with a vision to bring Mrs. Murty’s work to life with animation. We’re humbled and privileged to be chosen partners and we have also identified the stories at the moment we have worked on 52 stories with each one of them and with a different lesson. This is launching on the YouTube channel Murty Media and on 31 October we’ve created these stories in 6 languages that is Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Karnataka.

On your vision and future plans for the organisation in the coming years

Animation has been an evolving industry but the last couple of years has been quite challenging for everyone in the industry. We at Cosmos got the opportunity to bring the book content to life in a new beginning of things we are hoping to create news. While TV is of course an integral part, we have to look at alternate ways to create new business models.