While older cousin, Suraj, inherited the creative mantle, Rajat’s own penchant for business led him to establish Rajshri Media in 2006, with the intent of being India’s first and foremost studio dedicated to web and mobile content. “We are a content company, creating, aggregating and distributing content across three screens,” says the younger Barjatya, who recognises the mobile as a screen in its own right.

Less than 1% of the content on the internet platform--which famously launched Vivaah at the same time as the theatrical release--belongs to Rajshri. The remaining content comes from a variety of sources.

With the heritage of the 1st and 2nd screens backing him, Barjatya is not only preparing his company for the 3rd and 4th screens, but also for the 5th, which he characterises as the universe of handheld entertainment devices, ranging from I-Pod, I-Phone, X Box, Nintendo Wii and Amazon Kindle.

Rajshri’s on-deck distribution strategy is to aggregate vast amount of content repurposed for mobile and distribute it over a WAP portal, voice portal or shortcode.

A year ago, work began on creating new intellectual property for new media. After examining various options for length, budget, roll-out strategy, business model and genre, Rajshri settled on a 3 minute format in the humour genre, more in keeping with mobile’s primary demographics of young and male than a Saas Bahu serial might be. “It fits very well with our strategy in that is timeless, not topical, unlike the news or current affairs genre. Even a year later, it should have scope for international distribution,” is Barjatya’s yardstick.

True to its brand attributes associated with Indian heritage,  ‘wholesome’ family entertainment and value-based entertainment, Rajshri dug into the past and realised an under-exploited treasure trove of wisdom in the Akbar Birbal tales.

A finished pilot was taken around to various cellular companies and it was at Idea Cellular that Rajshri found a meeting of the minds. Idea offered a hefty advance, an equitable revenue share and a significant marketing commitment, both above and below the line, for an exclusive 3-month distribution deal.

Rajshri’s recent deal with youtube.com also was timely in promoting the series. Akbar Birbal Remixed will be co-premiered on both the Rajshri and an exclusive Rajshri channel on the youtube site.

Rajshri makes no bones about the fact that the future of new IP creation for digital media lies in Bollywood-inspired content, (read, in your face, loud and over the top.) Yet, Rajshri is betting that the positive take-aways and underlying messages from each episode will not detract from the entertainment value created by chemistry between the duo.