Indian youngsters channel Sony Yay! is ready to introduce “CID Squad,” a first-of-its-kind animated investigative mystery that reimagines India’s iconic “CID” franchise for a brand new era.
The undertaking represents a strategic push to expand animation’s enchantment past conventional youngsters’ programming in what the channel describes as a “world-class animated revel in with state-of-the-art era.”
Ambesh Tiwari, trade head of Sony youngsters and animation, explains the perception riding the brand new manufacturing: “We discovered that the age team between 15 to 35 is in all probability one of the vital first generations who’ve pop out with a tolerance and acceptance of animated content material some distance upper. That is the primary Caricature Community era to now totally be folks.”
In line with Tiwari, this demographic shift created a possibility to inform tales with characters created in India. “What if the similar [“CID”] characters of Pradyuman, Daya, Freddie, Abhijit, with their very own qualities, had been kids based totally in as of late’s international?” he asks, outlining the concept that. Whilst the unique “CID” curious about homicide instances and organic crimes, “CID Squad” tackles fresh problems together with self-driving automobiles, synthetic intelligence and cyber safety.
In style on Selection
The animated sequence options Inspector Pradyuman as a 25 to 30-year-old main a group of more youthful detectives. In contrast to its predecessor, which adopted senior officials fixing conventional crimes, this reimagined group is composed of youngsters with distinct specializations. Abhijit, a 16-year-old with outstanding deduction abilities and a pointy reminiscence, makes use of his observational skills to lend a hand construct instances. Daya, fairly older than Abhijit, serves because the group’s muscle however is reimagined as “a gutsy coder” within the virtual age. “In the actual model, he’s a bodily robust man, however in our model, he’s a tender bloke who breaks the firewalls,” Tiwari says.
The group is rounded out through Fredricks, the youngest member who supplies comedian aid whilst keeping up a good group spirit, and Constable Sushil, a seasoned officer with an intensive community of informants. Dr. Salunkhe, a mechanical genius who owns a scrap store, creates creative devices from discarded fabrics to improve the group’s investigations.
“The characters have numerous affinity, even as of late with more youthful other people,” Tiwari notes, pointing to the unique “CID’s” contemporary a success comeback on Sony TV and streaming platforms like Netflix. He emphasizes that the brand new iteration stands by itself benefit: “In case you don’t in point of fact know ACP Pradyuman, you’re going to pick out up Inspector Pradyuman and notice the best way he leads the squad.”
With 13 episodes of 22-Half-hour every in its preliminary run, “CID Squad” is being located as a world belongings. “The intent is to create a world belongings which can be syndicated the world over, with India being a large marketplace,” Tiwari says. The sequence can be to be had within the Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Bangla languages to cater to various demographics throughout India.
Sony Yay! has partnered with Toonz Media Team, one in every of India’s main animation studios, for manufacturing. The display’s post-production is treated through Eire’s Telegael, with world song composers Gigi Meroni and Saveiro Rapezzi developing the soundtrack.
Sony Yay!’s strategic roadmap is guided through their “HUB technique,” making sure the emblem turns into a one-stop vacation spot for animation. The H stands for House to the most important toons, U for Limitless avenues, and B for Breaking obstacles. This manner has located Sony Yay! as one of the vital leaders in Indian youngsters’ leisure through embracing the philosophy of “animation for all.”
The 2025 strategic center of attention spaces apply this framework: often rising the content material library with iconic characters and international titles; increasing touchpoints past TV thru collaborations, products and virtual ecosystems; and riding India’s animation revolution with a powerful center of attention on homegrown IPs and anime growth.
Past “CID Squad,” Sony Yay! is bringing the Eastern anime sequence “Obocchama-kun” to Indian audiences thru a Japan-India collaboration. The display’s scriptwriting remains with the Eastern group to retain Obocchama-kun’s authentic allure, whilst Indian creators care for animation manufacturing to verify native relevance and seamless adaptation. This manner preserves the core humor and storytelling whilst fine-tuning cultural nuances for Indian audience.
Sony Yay! may be growing what Tiwari describes as “in all probability India’s first anime sequence” in accordance with Indian mythology, recently code-named “Mission Ok.” Whilst declining to specify which mythological personality can be featured, Tiwari showed it’s neither Kalki nor Ashwathama. “This can be a very anime tale with slightly man who has some roughly powers, then a complete bodily transformation occurs,” he says, noting that Eastern companions are serving to construct the sequence with unique anime storytelling parts.
Those projects shape a part of Yay! Animations’ strategic imperatives: IP manufacturing/co-production with “CID Squad” because the flagship sequence, content material introduction for different platforms and international skill collaboration. Further upcoming titles come with “Ray,” a chain in accordance with tales through mythical filmmaker Satyajit Ray, and “Karna – The Dad or mum,” reimagining the long-lasting Indian personality in a brand new avatar.
The channel has additionally received anime titles like “Naruto,” “Naruto Shippuden,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “Dr. Stone” and “Black Clover.” It’s been appearing strongly and is especially a success in South India.
Sony Yay! has advanced a balanced earnings style leveraging promoting partnerships, syndication offers and licensing alternatives. The anime growth has added vital worth to its choices, permitting the emblem to monetize throughout more than a few channels. The emblem may be strengthening its virtual presence, with 9 YouTube channels (4 show-centric Hindi-language channels and 5 regional channels) producing over 150 million audience and 1.5 billion impressions monthly.
“What we have now understood — we now see the marketplace of advertisers and licensers roughly figuring out the similar speculation — that it’s really time for animation for all,” Tiwari concludes.
