India, Aug. 18 -- The announcement of Ranveer Singh-starrer Pralay has put Ananya Birla's new production venture, Birla Studios, firmly on the radar. The nature of the project makes it an interesting first tentpole bet for the studio. Pralay is being described as an end-of-the-world survival thriller, directed by Jai Mehta and starring Kalyani Priyadarshan in the lead. An original story rather than an adaptation or a franchise property, Pralay comes with the kind of scale and world-building that is rarely an easy proposition for a first production.

For Ananya, who launched Birla Studios earlier this year with an stated focus on "high-concept, prestige-driven, commercial cinema", the film offers an early indication of the kind of projects...