Kuku, who has built a strong presence in India’s digital entertainment through audio and short video platforms, will be making his first foray into theatrical films with the Hindi horror comedy ‘Indian Institute of Zombies’, which is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 8th.
The film is set on an elite engineering campus and is a mix of zombie horror, coming-of-age comedy, and social satire. Kuku has placed the theatrical setting at the center of its strategy, positioning it as a genre debut for Indian cinema. The company views the collaborative big-screen experience as separate rather than an extension of its existing digital services.
The ensemble cast includes Jesse Lever, Anupriya Goenka, Mohan Kapoor, Ranjan Raj, Shivani Paliwal, Shantanu Anam, Rose Sardana, Sachin Kavetham, Tanishk Chaudhary, and more. The screenplay was written by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal, whose previous credits include ‘Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva’ and ‘Farji’. It will be directed by Gaganjeet Singh and Alok Dwivedi of Low Gravity Productions, a team with experience in streaming series and ad films.
The story begins inside Kuku, with the project framed as the first step in the company’s theatrical growth ambitions.
Kuku’s two main platforms occupy a distinct corner of the Indian digital market. Kuku FM has expanded into a leading destination for audio storytelling, while Kuku TV has gained traction among younger viewers through its microdrama format and delivers stories built for mobile viewing.
“Kuku has always been obsessed with how India consumes stories,” said Lal Chand Bis, CEO of Kuku. “We have built consumer scale through Kuku FM and created a new micro-drama category in India with Kuku TV. For us, theater represents the next frontier and we are excited to take this first step. ‘Indian Institute of Zombies’ is the first of many theaters rooted in youth culture, genre innovation and the tastes of the Indian masses.”
Alongside its creative ambitions, the company advocates artificial intelligence as a structural part of the way it makes films. Rather than deploying AI in the corner, Kuku says AI is building technology into the foundation of projects, informing how stories are developed and structured, how production logistics are modeled, and how creative decisions are tested and refined throughout the process.
Kunj Sanghvi, Senior Vice President at Kuku, explained the thinking behind both genre selection and technology strategy. “‘India Zombie Institute’ is a film for everyone who has ever been to a college campus. We hope the audience will experience the adventurous and brave side by watching this hilarious zombie movie. We have observed the success rate of horror comedies in cinemas, the absence of a blockbuster zombie movie in India yet, and the insatiable appetite for campus stories across age groups in India,” he said.
“We think of AI not as a replacement for creativity, but as an amplifier. By deeply integrating AI into the filmmaking process, we can iterate faster, visualize better, and make sharper decisions faster.”
