Mumbai-based Celestia Pictures, founded by Actor-Producer Ankkit Poddar and Entertainment Lawyer Abhijeet Shukla, has wrapped 6 projects within its first month of operations, with 15 more already in the pipeline. For a studio this young, that's not a modest debut; it's a statement.
The slate itself reads like a studio twice its age. Khela Hobe, starring Vikram Kochhar, and Marriage Bureau, starring Namit Das, have been produced for Rocket Reels, shot in both vertical and horizontal formats. On the regional front, Celestia has completed Bahu Ka Sangharsh with Amrapali Dubey and Tapasya with Rani Chatterjee for Shujay Music World. A big-budget two-part Hindi feature film is also in development, expected to go on the floor in mid-2027.
Ankkit Poddar, who brings an interesting mix of acting, corporate banking, healthcare entrepreneurship and a decade of mentoring into his producer identity, says the pace wasn't accidental. "The 6 projects in our first month are not the result of rushing; they are the outcome of months of groundwork that went in well before the formal launch," he explains. "We had already identified the stories we wanted to tell, the platforms we wanted to work with, and the talent we wanted to bring on board."
That philosophy extended to casting as well. Rather than chase star power, Poddar says the studio built each project around its script first. "It was never about chasing big names, it was about finding the right actors who could bring authenticity and depth to the stories we wanted to tell," he says, crediting the trust of "talented artists like Vikram Kochhar, Namit Das, Amrapali Dubey, Rani Chatterjee, and others" for believing in a studio still finding its feet.
The studio's decision to shoot in both vertical and horizontal formats simultaneously, unusual for most production houses, was equally deliberate. "If you are building a studio for the next decade, you cannot afford to think in only one format," Poddar notes, calling it an investment in staying relevant as viewing habits shift across phones, laptops and connected televisions.
While Poddar fronts much of Celestia's creative vision, co-founder Abhijeet Shukla brings the structural backbone. With over a decade spent navigating the legal and business complexities of the entertainment industry, Shukla says he watched too many promising projects stall for the wrong reasons. "I realized that many great ideas never reached their full potential because they lacked the right structure, planning, or long-term vision," he says. "Too often, legal and business decisions were treated as an afterthought instead of being part of the creative journey from day one." Celestia Pictures, he adds, was built to close that gap, "a company where creativity and strategy could exist together."
Together, the two founders are positioning Celestia as more than a content pipeline. As Poddar puts it, the studio's tagline, "Where Great Stories Find Their Light," isn't a line, it's a promise: "There are so many powerful stories that never find the right platform or the right backing, and we want Celestia to be the place where those stories are given the space to shine."
With a debut slate this stacked and a feature film already on the horizon, Celestia Pictures looks set to be one of the more closely watched new entrants in India's production landscape.
Image Source - PR