Tom Hanks's Indian connection, partners with Reliance Big Entertainment

Reliance Big Entertainment (RBE), the flagship media and entertainment arm of India's Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group today announced a joint-venture with Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman's Playtone. RBE together with Playtone will create "ELECTRIC CITY' ' a multi-platform digital experience covering a multi-episode animated internet series, online social game and mobile application.

Conceived and written by Tom Hanks, ELECTRIC CITY will offer a tantalizing view of the future of civilization, presented through the lens of provocative themes such as energy consumption, freedom of information, crime and punishment.

ELECTRIC CITY is being specifically designed as a multi-platform, multi-screen unified digital experience. A Social Game, a Mobile Game, Webisodes and Mobisodes will be interlinked creating a unique digital experience. The storyline lends itself perfectly to a multi-player browser game application for social networking sites and mobile devices.

Zapak, the gaming arm of RBE, will spearhead and manage the whole project. ELECTRIC CITY will look forward to strategic partnerships with leading global companies in video distribution, social gaming & mobile applications.

Commenting on the project, producer Gary Goetzman said, "Tom and I are thrilled to be taking ELECTRIC CITY into the digital space with Reliance and Zapak as our partners. We're excited by the challenge of making content for new distribution platforms and interactive formats."

Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Reliance ADA group, said, "We are delighted to work together with such talented individuals as Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman on ELECTRIC CITY. We are sure Reliance's strength in the entertainment space combined with Zapak's expertise in the digital world, and Playtone's demonstrated creative and production acumen, will create an exciting and magical experience in the digital space."