India’s first made-for-mobile episodes have clocked up 300,000 minutes since their launch on June 27, but in their audio, rather than video version. Idea Cellular, which was first to market with the 4th screen narratives reports initial positive response to the new trial packs being offered to customers but believes it is premature to judge the success of the videosodes, Akbar Birbal Remixed, which are already available on its GPRS WAP portal and in a sound-only format over its voice portal.

If it catches on, the 90-episode comedy series conceived and produced by Rajshri Media, will offer a contemporary twist to the familiar fables in a “snackable” 3-minute video format for Idea’s value-added customers.

Rather than the court of the Mughal emperor, these episodes are reprised in the bylanes of Bhendi Bazaar, featuring an endearing chauthi fail don, Akbar Anna and his razor-witted sidekick, Birbal Bhaiya.

While Idea Cellular’s 31 million subscribers constitute a bigger base than an entire Western nation’s, the percentage of those subscribing to GPRS runs in the single digits and those actually utilizing their GPRS account are a comparitively miniscule proportion of that. Thus, each video episode is re-scripted into an audio version punctuated by a narrator who will provide sync with sound effects where no visual cues are available.

An exclusivity period with Idea covers 90 days, at the rate of 1 episode a day. Idea subscribers will be charged Rs. 15 per episode, or in packages of Rs. 50 per week and Rs. 150 per month. The audio version is available at Re. 1.99 per episode. The learnings from the 3-month exercise will apply to new episodes and new concepts altogether.

“It’s early days yet,” says Pradeep Shrivastava, chief marketing officer for Idea Cellular, which is venturing cautiously into the marketing of the series. “While below-the-line marketing to existing customers is easy enough, to market this wider, we have to be cautious about permission marketing rules,” he says. He highlights instead the concept to development of the series which he is confident provides greater value than Krishi Darshan or Chitrahaar on the small screen.

Equally bullish about the Indian public’s appetite for entertainment on the move is the show’s producer, Rajshri. “Early on we realised we needed new entertainment touchpoints, especially to cater to the younger, mobile generation,” says Rajat Barjatya, managing director of Rajshri Media and scion of Tarachand Barjatya, the founder of the Rajshri Productions, which is associated with titles like Vivaah, Hum Saath Saath Hain and Maine Pyar Kiya.

At the knee of his grandfather, and at the dining table of the joint family of three generations, he learnt the film trade inside out and from ground up. 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.

Although created for a 3G environment, the series is “dumbed down” for the prevailing environment of 2.5 G. While all the usual rules for mobile video applied: close-ups, static camera, no fast edits, brief in length, Rajshri has adopted a 360° approach to IP creation: the content must be conceived and work across video, audio, image, tone, MMS, SMS and in the future, games.