Kamal Haasan, who just celebrated his 67th birthday, is all set to become the first Indian celebrity to have a very own digital avatar himself in a metaverse. The actor, politician, producer and director has announced his entry into the digital space with the launch of non-fungible token (NFT). With this, he has joined Indian celebrates like Amitabh Bachchan and Sunny Leone to launch his own collection of the digital tokens, which will be exclusive to the buyers who invest in it. This also proves the growing craze regarding NFTs in India as more and more celebrities sign up in the space.
Haasan on his birthday, which fell on Sunday, November 7, said he is excited to explore the new venture. “I am excited to explore the emerging intersection of digital and physical world, which is now becoming popularly known as metaverse..my life’s journey of over six decades have blurred the distinction between my personal and professional life will be my offering for this metaverse,” he said in a press statement.
The actor-turned-politician has partnered with Fantico, an Indian licensed digital collectibles platform, to launch his own NFT collection. The fan engagement platform will also launch his digital avatars. Apart from this, Haasan will also have an exclusive space in the world of gaming, with Fantico launching a game-based metaverse for him.
The move will give the actor’s fans and followers an opportunity to start interacting with him in his own world, and the facility will be available across the globe since it is digital. It will also enable them to access his digital avatars, buy the souvenirs as NFTs and opt for meet and greet sessions. Haasan’s souvenirs will also be available to his fans in a physical form, apart from NFTs.
Fantico will start the process of bringing the star by launching his collection of NFT first. An NFT is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger called a blockchain that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio and other types of digital files.
“We are very excited to announce that we will be launching a game-based Metaverse which will be first of its kind in India. To have a legend such as Kamal Haasan on our platform will only set the trend for more creators to adapt to the future of fan engagement,” Fantico CEO told ET in a statement.
He added that the NFTs will be available to fans in the form of posters, avatars and movies of the actor. The star will also have his personal museum in the metaverse, the revealed. However, the deets of the metaverse and the games have been kept under the wraps. Singh also said that Fantico is in the process of adding more actors, sportspersons and studios and other such people to be a part of the metaverse.
Haasan’s announcement comes a day after megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s NFT collections of ‘Madhushala’, autographed posters and collectibles, received bids of around 7.18 crore in an auction organised by Beyondlife.Club. This was the highest-ever bid for NFTs in India. The auction had started on November 1 and ended on November 4. The most successful during the auction was the ‘Madhushala’ NFT collection – Amitabh Bachchan’s father’s poem – recorded in the superstar’s own voice.
Speaking about the global metaverse scenario, experts at the WazirX Trade Desk said, “Metaverse based projects have seen near exponential growth in the recent past ever since Facebook announced its Metaverse transition. Interestingly, the Monster-battle and non-fungible token (NFT) based game Axie Infinity is rapidly gaining popularity among workers in developing countries as a potential avenue for income. Axie Infinity is allowing developing nation workers to make money in the trading of collectible characters.”
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