Chandigarh, August 4:Millions of Indians who know Sir Ben Kingsley as Mahatma Gandhi are in for a huge shock. Their Gandhi will soon be Osho.

After that historic Oscar role, almost 25 years go, Sir Ben Kingsley will return next year — in and as Guru of Sex.

Made by Media One Ventures, an international film production division of Compact Disc India Limited (CDI), a company based in Chandigarh, the script for the movie is being worked on by noted UK-based writer Farrukh Dhondy.

And that’s not all. According to Suresh Kumar, chairman, CDI, his production division is also working on another headline-grabber - an animation project on soccer featuring Brazilian superstar Ronaldo, with voiceovers from Hollywood stars like Michael Douglas, Samuel Jackson, Catherine Zeta Jones and Christina Aguilera.

Another forthcoming release is Raju the Joker, an animation movie which shall be a sort of sequel to Raj Kapoor’s legendary Mera Naam Joker. “We have taken the requisite permissions from RK films,” says Kumar.

And again, The Little Mermaid, featuring Bollywood heroine Dia Mirza, with underwater sequences in animation.

Confirming that Dhondy has been roped in for the projected $ 16-million the Bhagwan Rajneesh film, Kumar says the soccer movie will be released in time for the FIFA Confederation Cup in 2009, and involves a $ 20.15 million tie-up with Hollywood’s Motion Pixel Corporation.

Incorporated in 1992 as a maker of compact discs, CDI ventured into animation in 2002 and has obviously emerged as one of the most extraordinary success stories of the estimated $550-million Indian animation industry.

Listed at the BSE, the company recorded Rs 20.2 crore revenue in the first quarter of this fiscal. And this marks a 120% revenue increase from the same period last year.

Kumar says the company is looking to sign a contract with an Oscar-winning director, but won’t drop any names till a deal is signed “in about 10 days”.

Says Kumar: “Till now, we have worked mainly for outsourcers, but now we want to set up our own intellectual property rights. Setting up Media One Venture is the first step. We realise that in animation there is an immense opportunity if you own the IPR. Take the case of Mickey Mouse, which was created for a few thousand dollars way back in 1920s. Today, it is worth billions of dollars.”

With video games also on his radar, Kumar says the challenge now is to set high standards of quality and meet deadlines.

“In a 90-minute, movie you would need around 100,000 top quality drawings. Then you need a great script. We have hired best scriptwriters for our project. Guru of Sex is being written by Dhondy and another movie Hustle-Bustle is being scripted by Kamlesh Pandey who wrote the story for Rang De Basanti,” says Kumar.

“Making one character can take up 10,000 manhours. But if you can’t ensure secrecy and high quality, the entire effort comes down to zilch.”

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