Lava Media

What Lava Media does

Lava Media Pte Limited is a Singapore-incorporated, private film and television production company that develops and produces stories for global audiences across feature films, series, and documentaries. The company's portfolio centers on adapting premium literary and cultural IP - exemplified by The White Tiger (2021), based on Aravind Adiga's Booker Prize-winning novel, which was distributed globally via Netflix, reached #1 in over 60 countries, and received Academy Award, BAFTA, and Writers Guild recognition. Lava Media has optioned additional premium IP including Daisy Johnson's Booker-shortlisted Everything Under, Kim Wagner's Amritsar 1919 (developed as the Written in Blood anthology), and Ashok Rajagopalan's bestselling Gajapati Kulapati children's series.

Beyond live-action feature films, the company is expanding into animation and anime, with two notable development projects: a Mahabharata anime series blending India's epic with cutting-edge animation, and the Gajapati Kulapati franchise being built as an immersive world of animation, toys, games, and apps in partnership with the author and publisher Tulika Books. The core technology is film and animation production with domain specialization in IP adaptation.

Commercially, Lava Media generates revenue through one-time license fees for film production, plus ongoing licensing royalties for adapted IP, with Netflix as the flagship distribution partner and international theatrical distributors serving as secondary channels. The company is founder-led by Mukul Deora (described as having created over $200m in cumulative enterprise value across multiple ventures) with a lean organization of 11-50 employees headquartered at 100 Cecil Street, Singapore. Marketing is driven by earned media from major entertainment publications and festival/award recognition rather than paid channels.

Name

Lava Media

Legal name

Lava Media Pte Limited

Website

https://lavampl.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lava Media is a Singapore-based film and content production company that develops and produces feature films, series, documentaries, and animation for global audiences, anchored by the Netflix-distributed feature film The White Tiger (2021) and a growing pipeline of adapted literary and cultural IP.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film and Television Production

NAICS

Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries (512), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (512120), Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) (533)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Royalty, Reporting & Revenue Share Administration (MPADALAJ)

Keywords

• Film production
• Television series development
• Animation production
• Intellectual property licensing
• Content distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Film Production and Distribution: Producing feature films and licensing distribution rights to streaming platforms and theatrical distributors worldwide. Revenue generated through production deals, streaming rights, and international distribution agreements.
2. IP Development and Licensing: Acquiring rights to books and intellectual property (Gajapati Kulapati, Everything Under, Mahabharata) and developing them into animated series, films, and multimedia content. Revenue from licensing adapted content to studios and platforms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lava Media develops and produces feature films, series, and documentaries for global audiences. The company acquires rights to literary and intellectual property, including Booker Prize-shortlisted novels, bestselling children's books, and Indian epics, and adapts them into films, animated series, and multimedia content. Revenue is generated through production deals, streaming rights licensing, and international distribution agreements with platforms such as Netflix.

Product overview

Lava Media is a film and television production company that develops and produces diverse, compelling stories for global audiences across all formats including feature films, series, and documentaries. Their portfolio includes the Academy Award and BAFTA-winning feature film 'The White Tiger', currently in-development animated properties such as 'Gajapati Kulapati' (children's animation with toys, games, and apps) and the 'Mahabharata Anime Series', as well as historical drama series including 'Written in Blood: Jallianwala Bagh Massacre' and literary adaptations like 'Everything Under'.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The White Tiger Feature film based on Aravind Adiga's Booker Prize-winning novel, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Rajkummar Rao, and Adarsh Gourav. It was released on Netflix and reached number one in over 60 countries, viewed by over 27 million households worldwide, and received Academy Award and BAFTA nominations.
• Gajapati Kulapati Children's IP being developed into animation, toys, games, and apps, based on Ashok Rajagopalan's bestselling series about a kind-hearted elephant, which won the Best of Indian Children's Writing Award in 2018. The series is being built into an immersive multimedia world in collaboration with author Ashok Rajagopalan and publisher Tulika Books.
• Mahabharata Anime Series Anime adaptation of India's Mahabharata epic, blending traditional storytelling with cutting-edge animation techniques to bring the tale of duty, honour, and cosmic conflict to a global audience. Targeted at the anime genre, the fastest-growing content category globally.
• Written in Blood: Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Anthology TV series where each six-episode season focuses on a historic event of mass violence. The first season is based on the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of April 13, 1919, adapted from Kim Wagner's book 'Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear & the Making of a Massacre'.
• Everything Under TV series in development based on Daisy Johnson's Booker Prize-shortlisted 2018 novel, which centers on Gretel, a woman who reunites with the mother who abandoned her, evolving into a haunting monster story, twisted queer fairy tale, and Greek tragedy. The book won Blackwell's Fiction Book of the Year, Entertainment Weekly Book of the Year, Guardian Book of the Year, and Lithub Book of the Year.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• NetflixflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 22 January 2021Netflix is the primary streaming distribution partner for Lava Media's films. The White Tiger, produced by Lava Media and Mukul Deora, was released on Netflix globally and reached number one in over 60 countries, viewed by over 27 million households.
• Tulika BookscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTulika Books is the publisher of Gajapati Kulapati, the bestselling children's book series that Lava Media has acquired rights to for developing animation, toys, games, and apps.
• Ashok RajagopalancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAshok Rajagopalan is the author of the bestselling Gajapati Kulapati children's book series. Lava Media is collaborating with him to bring the beloved elephant character to screen as an immersive world of animation, toys, games, and apps.
• Kim WagnercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKim Wagner is the author of 'Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear & the Making of a Massacre', the source material for the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre series adaptation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Excel Entertainment: Indian production house producing premium content across films and series (e.g., Gully Boy, Inside Edge). Similar slate-driven approach with both theatrical films and streaming series, targeting global recognition.
• Chernin Entertainment: Independent production company developing film and TV content for global platforms including Netflix. Comparable in scale and in producing premium literary-adapted content for streaming-first distribution.
• RSVP Movies: Indian production company producing globally-distributed films (e.g., Sir, Love Per Square Foot) for Netflix and other streaming platforms. Comparable in targeting streaming-platform partnerships with India-originated stories for global audiences.
• Tiger Aspect Productions: Endemol Shine-owned UK production company producing premium dramas and films for global audiences (Peaky Blinders, The White Queen). Comparable in producing globally distributed, award-recognized prestige content adapted from literary IP.
• Sikhya Entertainment: India-based independent film production company behind globally successful cross-cultural films like The Lunchbox. Most directly comparable to Lava Media given similar focus on Indian-originated, globally distributed prestige films with international festival recognition.

Broad incumbents

• Reliance Entertainment: Major Indian entertainment conglomerate producing and distributing films globally, including Steven Spielberg collaborations. Much larger competitor in India-originated content targeting global distribution.
• Participant Media: Larger US production company focused on socially-impactful, award-winning films (Spotlight, Roma). Comparable in producing prestige, issue-driven Indian/global stories with Oscar/BAFTA recognition, though at significantly larger scale.
• A24: US indie production/distribution studio known for prestige, award-winning films with strong global streaming distribution. Comparable in indie-prestige positioning and Oscar/BAFTA track record, though at significantly larger scale and broader genre mix.
• Skydance Television: Larger production company with global streaming partnerships (Netflix, Apple, Amazon). Comparable in producing premium TV series for global platforms, though focused on English-language content and at substantially larger scale.

Emerging players

• Sacred Games Media: Emerging India-focused production company developing premium content for global streaming platforms. Comparable in targeting international streaming distribution with India-originated stories.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lava-media-pvt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lava Media