Mayavi Entertainment, a new-age film studio headquartered across India and the UAE, has announced plans that could significantly alter how films are financed, owned and monetised in India.

Backed by seasoned industry operators, the studio has revealed a multi-year slate of 31 films, signalling its intent to revolutionise and democratise intellectual property ownership while introducing institution-grade, technology-driven financing models to the film business.

According to a press release, Mayavi Entertainment is positioning itself as a future-ready studio that blends diverse storytelling with innovation, leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain. The studio aims to stay ahead of the rapidly evolving entertainment landscape by combining creative ambition with operational discipline and structured capital strategies.

At the core of Mayavi Entertainment is a leadership team that brings together rare cross-functional expertise across creative, finance and global distribution. Key stakeholders include Chaitanya Sant, a visual director known for large-scale production design on films such as ‘Padmaavat’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Mary Kom’ and ‘Heeramandi’; Rahul Merchant, a global distributor with credits spanning over 75 Indian and international titles including ‘La La Land’, ‘Isle of Dogs’, ‘Citizenfour’ and ‘Jackie’; Deepak R. Nangalia, producer and seasoned CFO behind films like ‘Ringan’, ‘Vazandar’, ‘420 IPC’ and ‘Gandhi Talks’; and Vinay Mahidhar, a visual specialist with over 25 years of experience in still and motion photography for brands and films.

Supporting this core leadership is an equally strong group of industry veterans. These include Trilok Malhotra, a producer associated with over 40 Indian films generating more than USD 700 million in revenues; Nitin Zanwar, who brings over two decades of studio experience across Jio Studios, Junglee Pictures, Eros and YRF with a focus on multilingual commercial cinema; and Sanjay Dayma, internationally recognised as co-writer and associate director of the Oscar-nominated ‘Lagaan’. The advisory board further strengthens the studio’s vision, with UAE-based Gaurang Desai, Managing Director of Equiti Securities and Advisor to the UAE Securities & Commodities Authority, and Dr. Resul Pookuty, Padma Shri awardee and Academy Award winner for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.

United by a shared objective, the Mayavi team aims to establish film IP as a measurable and governable asset class. The studio’s model introduces advanced, tech-based funding structures that are designed to be democratic, collateralised and compliant with institutional standards. For the first time, Mayavi’s capital strategy enables accredited individuals, financial institutions and even audiences to participate collectively in a diversified slate of films across languages, genres and budgets.

By pooling investments at the slate level rather than at individual films, the studio seeks to reduce the concentration risk traditionally associated with film financing. Capital is planned to be sourced from a wide range of investors at different stages of production and release, allowing creative decisions to be driven by long-term vision instead of short-term financial pressure.

A key pillar of the model is the use of responsible tokenisation mechanisms to improve transparency, governance, traceability and reporting. Mayavi stated that these mechanisms, offering both utility and financial securities, are being implemented in partnership with SolidusQX, led by Rohit Dalmia. The objective is to provide investors with granular visibility into capital deployment and the lifecycle of IP value creation and monetisation.

Several projects from the 31-film slate are already at advanced development stages, allowing capital deployment to be phased based on project readiness. Monetisation plans span theatrical releases, streaming platforms, satellite rights and overseas markets. Global distribution is being integrated at the greenlighting stage itself, with a focus on India, the Gulf, North America, Europe, Australia and key diaspora markets.

The studio’s name, Mayavi, is derived from the philosophical concept of “MA”, which it describes as a principle rooted in imagination and creation. In practical terms, this translates into accountability toward audiences, creators and capital providers, with a focus on long-term IP stewardship, diversified financing structures, technology-led execution and multi-market, multi-platform distribution.