As India’s media and entertainment sector increasingly pivots toward IP ownership and global distribution, Kayhan Entertainment is positioning itself at the intersection of storytelling, technology, and the country’s fast-emerging Orange Economy.
In this interaction, co-founders Dalbir Singh and Arushi Govil discuss their journey from working on global blockbusters to building an IP-led studio from India, their strategic shift from execution to ownership, and how Kayhan aims to scale as a global creative enterprise.
Founded by Dalbir Singh (Chief of Magic & Mayhem) and Arushi Govil (Dreamer-in-Chief), Kayhan is being built through a distinctive creative partnership that brings together vision and execution in equal measure. As one of India’s most defining IP-creator couples, the two founders combine storytelling ambition, worldbuilding expertise, and production discipline to create and scale original IP from India. Their complementary strengths are shaping Kayhan into an integrated creative ecosystem designed to accelerate India’s shift from execution-led services to ownership-driven storytelling.
Dalbir brings over 15 years of experience in VFX and filmmaking, having worked on global blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame, Zack Snyder's Justice League, and Venom, and leads the studio’s creative vision. Arushi brings deep production expertise, with experience at leading global studios including MPC, Framestore, and DNEG, having contributed to films such as Tenet, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, ensuring operational excellence and bringing structure to large-scale creative execution.
1. What strategic gap were you aiming to address in the AVGC ecosystem when you established Kayhan Entertainment?
We saw a clear gap between India’s execution strength and true creative ownership. For years, India has been a backbone to global content production, but largely as an execution partner. The opportunity was to move beyond that and build a studio focused on original IP, where storytelling, technology, and ownership come together.
Kayhan was built with that intent, to create a space that blends strong storytelling with world-class VFX and CGI, delivering high-quality visual experiences across films, television, advertising, and digital platforms, but with ownership at the core.
Together, we are building Kayhan as a studio that moves from execution to ownership, creating globally relevant stories from India that we don’t just contribute to, but truly own.
2. What drove your transition from working within global studio ecosystems to building an independent, IP-led venture?
We built our careers within global studio ecosystems, contributing to some of the biggest international projects, with access to scale, systems, and world-class pipelines. But over time, one thing became increasingly clear, while India was playing a critical role in global storytelling, we were not owning those stories.
That realization stayed with us. Kayhan was born out of a larger belief that as a country, we need to move from contribution to ownership. India has the talent, the cultural depth, and the creative instinct, and it is time we back it with ownership-led thinking.
For us, this shift is both personal and strategic. It is about building original IP that is rooted here, but travels globally, ensuring that the stories we help create are also the stories we own.
3. How would you characterise Kayhan’s journey so far in terms of capability building and IP creation?
For us, this journey has been deeply personal. We have experienced what it means to work within some of the most advanced global systems, contributing to large-scale projects, but always within defined boundaries.
At some point, the focus shifted from what we were building for others to what we wanted to build for ourselves.
That shift came from a simple belief, India has exceptional creative and technical talent, and it deserves to be channeled into building original IP, not just executing global ideas.
Kayhan began with that intent, taking everything we have learned and applying it to build our own creative and production ecosystem. A key milestone has been the launch of Chote Tara Ka Bada Gadar on KidZee, proving that culturally rooted stories can scale to mainstream platforms.
With FAB 5, we are taking a more structured step toward building scalable, character-led IP with long-term franchise potential.
Alongside this, we continue to build a strong pipeline of original content while strengthening our internal capabilities. The shift from execution to ownership is no longer a direction, it is already underway
4. What is the long-term vision for Kayhan, particularly in the context of India’s growing Orange Economy?
Our vision is to build Kayhan into a globally relevant storytelling company from India, while also contributing to a larger shift in how India creates and owns its creative output.
On a personal level, this goes beyond just building a company. We want to help create an ecosystem where talent is nurtured, ideas are backed, and creators have the opportunity to build and own what they create.
In the near term, the focus is on building strong creative credibility and trust with partners and platforms. Over time, the ambition is to evolve into a larger creative enterprise.
We are positioning Kayhan as a global storytelling hub, focused on IP ownership and creative exports, while actively building structures that support talent, both within our teams and through initiatives like Macra.
For us, growth is not just about scale, but about enabling ownership of ideas, stories, and creative futures.
5. Can you outline your current body of work and the scale at which the company is operating today?
Our work today is centered around building owned IP, with a strong focus on creative storytelling and animation.
We have launched two IPs and are currently developing a growing pipeline that includes children’s and regional-language content. The focus is on creating stories that are culturally rooted, creatively strong, and designed to scale across formats and markets.
Our team combines international production experience with a steadily growing in-house creative and animation setup. Today, Kayhan operates across multiple formats and markets, with a team of talented professionals, and a clear focus on expanding its original content portfolio.
6. What does the next phase of growth look like for Kayhan, and how are you structuring the business to scale?
The next phase is about building Kayhan as a fully integrated IP-led ecosystem across four key verticals.
Media and storytelling will remain the core, spanning animation, films, and digital content. This will extend into consumer and merchandise through licensing and products. We are also investing in education and talent development through Macra to strengthen the creator pipeline. Over time, we will expand into immersive experiences and distribution, including AR and VR.
A key strategic initiative is the launch of an IP incubator to nurture new creators and ideas.
Creatively, the focus is on transmedia storytelling, where a single IP can seamlessly extend across animation, gaming, and immersive formats.
The long-term goal is clear, to move from creating content to building IP that travels across formats, markets, and time.
7. How is Macra Academy contributing to building a future-ready talent pipeline for India’s creative economy?
Macra Academy is our way of addressing a gap we have experienced first-hand, the disconnect between traditional training and real industry requirements.
It is a creator-led platform built within the Kayhan ecosystem, focused on developing industry-ready talent across animation, VFX, gaming, and digital storytelling. The approach goes beyond conventional education by combining structured learning with real production exposure.
What we are building at Macra is not just education, but capability. Students learn how projects are actually executed, with exposure to evolving tools including AI, making them production-ready from day one.
At the same time, we are expanding access by focusing on talent from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, helping build a more inclusive and scalable talent pipeline.
Macra is not just supporting Kayhan’s growth, it is contributing to a larger shift where India builds, owns, and exports its creative capital globally.
