We are living in an era where visual mediums and video content has captured the imagination of viewers everywhere. But in a world where video content is ‘a dime a dozen’, it takes a true blue storyteller to craft one of a kind visual experiences that can hold the attention of today’s distracted viewer. One such maverick storyteller is Tanushree Roy Paul, a passionate visual storyteller who uses graphic novels, comics, animated content, digital art, and interactive media to tell her stories.

Tanushree is the co-founder of The Kairos Pictures, a specialised media studio that creates Animated Web series, Web Comics and Digital Content for independent authors and Businesses. The Kairos Pictures is a subdivision of Goppo Dhara Mediaworks LLP, a firm that offers design-led creative solutions through innovative storytelling techniques for Web, Cinema, and other digital platforms.

Hailing from a family of thespians, Tanushree believes that these mediums are powerful tools for communicating messages and engaging audiences. She places a strong emphasis on experimental film-making and media arts to create social narratives that strengthen connections between the message and the audience. She constantly explore, research, and analyze multicultural Visual and performance-based arts which aids her to prototype visual narrative experiences for cross-media storytelling.

Take us through your early educational journey and prior industry experience.

I grew up in a family of thespians who were accomplished writers, actors, singers, and theatre directors, which inspired me to pursue stagecraft. My preference for the visual arts eventually led to my admission to the Government Institute of Fine Arts, Jabalpur, where I pursued a degree in Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting and met Debendu Sarkar, my life partner and the co-founder of The Kairos Pictures. My passion for folk artists and storytellers led me to undertake a Master's degree in Animation Film Design at IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay.

I started my career as an illustrator and worked for diverse Indian and International Publications from 2014-2016. The experience of guiding and attending to the curiosity of young creative explorers prompted me to explore a career in teaching. My experience in the creative & entertainment industry and as a researcher & educator, has helped me to plan and design effective transmedia storytelling services.

What motivated you to co-found The Kairos Picture? Tell us about the underlying idea behind the venture and some of its most unique features.

The Kairos Pictures was a joint venture by my partner and I to create a specialised media studio that could create print comics and digital format sequential stories for independent authors, but we were unable to proceed with it due to our full-time jobs as professors. The year 2020 brought us very exciting collaborations with media production houses and creators, pushing us to re-open The Kairos Pictures fully operational. It is primarily a cross-media production house for comics and animation. The studio is managed by our firm, "Goppo Dhara Mediaworks LLP," which provides proficiency in a range of visual storytelling mediums through design-led creative solutions. Our USP is managing the entire process under one roof, from concept development to post-production.

We help individuals and businesses tell their stories through multi-platform channels such as illustrated digital content, Animated and multimedia Ads, editing and post production, and the creation of original transmedia storytelling IPs.

Throw some light on the most critical business challenges you face as an animator. What steps do you take to overcome the roadblocks that you encounter?

For creative businesses across platforms, meeting the demand for quality while working within limited financial resources and timelines is a constant challenge. Quality and cost are always a balancing game. This can be a difficult task for our clients as well at times when they have a deadline to meet but don't always have the budget for the high quality work they desire. This is why we conduct extensive research to assist them in making the best decision about their project and then collaborate with them to develop a solid strategy to meet their objectives, especially when they are limited by budget and time. Finding and developing the right talent is another major challenge we face on a regular basis.

We take these challenges head-on by retraining our employees and improving our procedures to provide the highest-quality work. Finding the ideal people to work with and keeping them motivated to improve and take on challenges is the hardest challenge.

What are some of the most significant milestones that you have achieved throughout your professional journey? What has been your success mantra?

The most significant milestone is devising solid working strategies and pipelines for the production of web and app-based comics and animation, as well as training and encouraging young people to pursue careers in the new media comics & sequential storytelling wave. We assisted in the creation and development of the visual content for Comics and Animation IP for Pratilipi, India's largest storytelling platform, and we could never have imagined the millions of views and engagement it would receive after its launch.

"My experience in the creative and entertainment industry, as well as a researcher and educator, has helped me to plan and design effective transmedia storytelling services"

We focus on building trust with the team and invest in people's overall development. A company's soul is found in its employees. We always encourage our team to take on new challenges, hone their abilities, and motivate, which keeps us gratified.

How do you foresee the animation landscape evolving in the near future?

The demand for engaging, high-definition visual experiences is growing, and moviegoers are demanding films with engaging visual effects and realistic animation. Animation is becoming a more popular medium for corporate entities to engage with their customers and scale up their marketing, as well as for creators to show the unimaginable realms. With growing AI tools, AR & VR experiences, and Metaverse tech setting down roots, one can expect a flurry of changes in the years to come as technology develops and tastes shift to reflect our capabilities.

What would your advice be to young women and girls who also aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

Being a woman is wonderful, but it can also make you feel unheard or disrespected as a professional. Understand that these are merely feeble attempts to undermine your confidence and spirit. Find a mentor who can guide you and invite you to networks that will help you grow. Do not Multitask - It is natural to lose focus when dealing with work and family, but try to prioritise and concentrate on one task at a time.

Tanushree Roy Paul , Co-Founder And Director, The Kairos Pictures

Tanushree Roy Paul is passionate about telling stories through Animation, Comics and communication design. She places a strong emphasis on experimental film-making and media arts to create social narratives that strengthen connections between the message and the audience.