Mar 25: Kuku, behind major platforms Kuku FM and Kuku TV, has announced its expansion into theatrical led cinema with its first Hindi feature film, Indian Institute of Zombies (IIZ), billed as India’s first Campus Zombie Comedy and releasing on 8 May in cinemas.
Set inside an elite engineering campus, Indian Institute of Zombies blends zombie horror, youth comedy and sharp social satire, set for a high energy big screen experience. Positioned as a genre-first for Indian cinemas, the company aims to build on a distinctly theatrical, community driven viewing experience with it’s foray. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Jessie Lever, Anupriya Goenka, Mohan Kapur, Ranjan Raj, Shivani Paliwal, Shantanu Anam, Rose Sardana, Sachin Kavetham, Tanishq Chaudhary, among others.
The story has been developed in house at Kuku while it has been scripted by Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal, known for their work on marquee titles including Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva and Farzi among others. Directed by Gaganjeet Singh and Alok Dwivedi of Low Gravity Productions, have helmed multiple successful OTT shows and ad films, the project marks the first step in building Kuku’s theatrical slate.
Kuku’s move into theatrical cinema represents a strategic evolution, as the company has steadily grown to be a leader in the audio and vertical storytelling landscape. While Kuku FM has grown into one of the country’s largest audio storytelling platforms, Kuku TV has pioneered the microdrama format, building a massive mobile first storytelling ecosystem for young audiences.
“Kuku has always been obsessed with how India consumes stories,” said Lal Chand Bisu, CEO, Kuku. “We built scale in personal consumption through Kuku FM and created a new microdrama category in India with Kuku TV. Theatres for us represent the next frontier and we are excited to make our first steps in it. Indian Institute of Zombies marks the first of our many, rooted in youth culture, genre innovation and mass Indian tastes.”
The film also reflects Kuku’s AI native approach to filmmaking. Artificial Intelligence has been deeply integrated into the project’s development and production workflows, from concept structuring and story architecture to scheduling, budgeting simulations and rapid creative iteration. Rather than using AI as a gimmick, Kuku has embedded it into its production backbone to enable faster development cycles.
“IIZ or Indian Institute of Zombies is a film for everyone who has ever been on a college campus. We hope our audiences get to experience their adventurous and brave side as they watch this hilarious film on zombies. We observed the success rates of Horror Comedies at the cinemas, the lack of a breakout Indian Zombie film yet and the insatiable appetite for campus stories across age groups in India.” Said Kunj Sanghvi, Senior Vice President, KUKU. “We don’t see AI as a replacement for creativity, but more as an amplifier. By deeply integrating AI into our filmmaking process, we’re able to iterate faster, visualise better and make sharper decisions earlier.” He added.
The film marks the beginning of Kuku’s broader ambition to build a curated theatrical portfolio, leveraging its existing wide reach, audience insights and AI native infrastructure to create culturally resonant cinema for Indian audiences.
