A homegrown animation studio’s project is set to give the country its first-ever Japanese animation-style feature
The story follows a young artist in Delhi who comes across a strange lantern
If you have ever wondered what Delhi would look like through the dreamy, hyper-expressive lens of Japanese anime, two brothers from the capital are already drawing it frame by frame.
Mohammed Zeeshan and Mohammed Danish, co-founders of GD Productions, are working on one of India’s most ambitious indie animated projects. Titled Before Again, it will be a two-hour-long full-length feature film or a 12-episode series made in the Japanese-style anime and set in Delhi. Alongside this, they are also building an animated satirical series, Animal Courtroom, where animals drag humans to court for crimes against nature.
The studio, founded in 2008, has been deeply embedded in Indian animation for over 15 years, but something shifted recently. “What we have seen in the last two years is that the viewership for anime content has increased a lot,” says Zeeshan. “Indians are consuming global content, but our own content for adults or middle-aged people is missing.”
For the filmmakers, Delhi made for a familiar setting
So, the brothers decided to stop waiting for the right project and start making one. GD Productions worked across 2D, 3D, and graphic design for years, but since 2015, the studio has been exclusively working with 2D classical animation, especially in a Japanese-inspired hand-drawn digital style.
But Before Again is a leap into something bigger: a two-hour anime-style film inspired by Delhi’s real locations, culture, and body language. Danish, who is the scriptwriter and director of the film, explains, “Japanese anime is not about the style, it’s about the feeling. The style is more realistic, with mature stories and themes. Every style gives a different feeling, so we adapt the style according to what we want the audience to feel.”
And the story they want to tell is unmistakably Indian. The story follows a young artist in Delhi who comes across a strange lantern. He believes it might be the answer to fixing what feels broken in love and life. At first, its glow seems to heal what words and time cannot, but the more he turns to its light, he learns that using the lantern brings unexpected consequences.
Animal Courtroom is the mischievous cousin of Before Again
“We chose Delhi because we know it better than any other city. We’re planning to use real locations. The metro stations, flyovers, old colonies, even real signboards and fabrics,” says Zeeshan. The details go down to character design, “His hairstyle, his dressing, the thread in his hand… All of these elements are distinctly Indian,” says Danish.
The team is small, with only 5–6 artists working on these passion projects, and everything is self-funded. The brothers laugh about timelines because animation is notoriously unpredictable, but Zeeshan gives a ballpark: “If it’s a movie, two years. If it’s episodic, the first episode may take six months.”
If Before Again is an emotional, anime-infused coming-of-age story, Animal Courtroom is its mischievous cousin. “It’s a series for YouTube as of now, because we don’t have funding,” says Zeeshan. “The concept is that animals bring humans to court and file cases. The first episode is about plastic pollution. Another is about zoos, and asks, are animals even happy there?”
Mohd Zeeshan and Mohd Danish
Danish adds, “We created our own style for Animal Courtroom. The art and animation are Western-inspired.” They hope OTT platforms pick it up, but for now, it’s a self-funded experiment with teeth.
Why did they choose to take on the task of self-funded projects? The brothers simply say, it was time. “People used to think animation is only for kids, but that’s changing,” says Zeeshan. He points to the surge after Mahavatar Narsimha and the upcoming Baahubali animated film.
He adds that Indian TV has long been flooded with kid-focused cartoon content like Motu Patlu and Chhota Bheem which are great shows, but only for a specific audience.
India has long been an outsourcing hub, servicing animation giants abroad. But Danish believes that the chapter is closing. “It was an outsourcing hub, but in the future, we don’t think so. We will make our own IPs. India will take direction,” he says.
Why didn’t it happen earlier? Their answer is brutally honest: “We had the talent, but no demand. And, no investors.”
To pull off Before Again and Animal Courtroom, the brothers are hoping to receive funding soon. If all works well, this homegrown anime will signal that Indian animation is finally ready to tell its own stories, its own way.
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