The twin announcements, made by TCS CEO K. Krithivasan at a press conference in Kolkata, signal the company’s intent to position itself at the forefront of the AI revolution in enterprise technology. With revenues exceeding $30 billion and a workforce of over 600,000, TCS is among the world’s largest IT services firms, and its moves in the AI space carry significant implications for the global technology industry.

The Oracle AI Lab

The Oracle AI Data Platform Lab, housed at TCS’s Kolkata campus, is the first facility of its kind in India. It combines Oracle’s cloud infrastructure and database technologies with AI and machine learning capabilities to create an environment where enterprises can experiment with, develop, and deploy AI-powered data solutions.

The lab offers enterprises a sandbox environment to test AI use cases using their own data — or synthetic data that mimics real-world scenarios — before deploying solutions in production. Use cases include AI-driven supply chain optimisation, predictive maintenance for manufacturing, intelligent customer service systems, fraud detection in financial services, and AI-powered healthcare analytics.

“The gap between AI proof-of-concept and production deployment is where most enterprises get stuck,” said Krithivasan. “This lab is designed to bridge that gap. We provide the infrastructure, the expertise, and the frameworks for enterprises to move from experimentation to real-world AI adoption.”

The choice of Kolkata for the lab is significant. While Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune have traditionally been India’s technology hubs, TCS’s investment in Kolkata reflects the city’s growing importance in the IT ecosystem. The West Bengal government has been actively courting technology investments, offering incentives and improved infrastructure to attract companies to the state. (Related: Meta Partners With Reliance to Build First AI Data…)

The Anthropic Partnership

The partnership with Anthropic, announced alongside the Oracle lab launch, takes TCS into the frontier of generative AI. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI researchers, has emerged as one of the leading AI companies globally, with its Claude models competing directly with OpenAI’s GPT and Google’s Gemini for supremacy in the large language model space.

Under the partnership, TCS will integrate Anthropic’s Claude models into its enterprise solutions, offering clients AI capabilities for document processing, code generation, customer interaction, research synthesis, and complex analytical tasks. The partnership also includes joint research initiatives focused on developing industry-specific AI applications and ensuring the safe and responsible deployment of AI systems in enterprise environments.

“Anthropic’s focus on AI safety and reliability aligns with our own values and with what our enterprise clients demand,” said Krithivasan. “When we deploy AI in a bank or a hospital, accuracy and safety are not optional — they are prerequisites. Anthropic understands this in a way that sets them apart.”

India’s Enterprise AI Landscape

TCS’s announcements come at a time when Indian IT companies are racing to establish themselves as AI-native service providers. Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Tech Mahindra have all made significant investments in AI capabilities, recognising that the technology represents both a threat and an opportunity for the traditional IT services model. (Related: Red Balloon Aerospace Launches India’s First…)

The threat is that AI could automate many of the routine coding, testing, and support tasks that have been the bread and butter of Indian IT outsourcing. The opportunity is that enterprises worldwide need help adopting and implementing AI — and Indian IT companies, with their deep client relationships, domain expertise, and scale, are well-positioned to be the guides for this transition.

According to a recent report by Nasscom, India’s AI services market is expected to grow from $4 billion in 2025 to $17 billion by 2030, driven by demand from enterprises in the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. TCS, with its first-mover advantage in establishing dedicated AI labs and strategic AI partnerships, is positioning itself to capture a significant share of this market.

The Kolkata Angle

The launch in Kolkata also has significance for the city’s technology aspirations. Once India’s commercial capital and the home of some of the country’s earliest technology ventures, Kolkata has been overshadowed by Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune in the IT boom. TCS’s investment — along with similar moves by other technology companies in recent years — suggests that Kolkata may be entering a new phase of technology-led growth.

The West Bengal government, under new Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari, has signalled a renewed focus on attracting technology investments to the state. The TCS lab is likely to generate hundreds of high-skill jobs in Kolkata and could catalyse a broader ecosystem of AI startups, research institutions, and technology vendors in the city.

For TCS, the message is clear: the future of IT services is AI, and the company intends to lead that future — from Kolkata to the world.

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Rao, who arrived in Kolkata earlier this week after completing the Mumbai leg of the shoot, was spotted at the Kolkata Maidan on Wednesday morning before heading to Eden Gardens for filming. The pictures, shared widely on Instagram and X, show the actor in what appears to be a recreation of one of Ganguly’s most memorable batting stances — a sight that immediately drew comparisons and commentary from cricket fans across the country.

The Transformation

Rajkummar Rao’s physical transformation for the role has been one of the most discussed aspects of the project since it was announced. The actor, known for his chameleon-like ability to disappear into characters — from the scrawny protagonist of Newton to the buffed-up hero of Mr & Mrs Mahi — has reportedly undergone intensive cricket training and physical conditioning to embody Ganguly’s distinctive batting style and on-field presence.

Sources close to the production say Rao spent three months training with former first-class cricketers to master Ganguly’s left-handed batting technique, his trademark off-side drives, and the elegant flick shots that were hallmarks of the “God of the Off Side.” The training extended to fielding, as Ganguly’s captaincy and on-field body language are expected to feature prominently in the film.

The leaked images from Eden Gardens show Rao wearing the Indian cricket team’s classic whites from what appears to be the late 1990s era — the period when Ganguly burst onto the international scene with his legendary debut century at Lord’s in 1996. The costume department has reportedly sourced period-accurate equipment and worked closely with cricket historians to ensure authenticity.

Eden Gardens: The Spiritual Home

The decision to film at Eden Gardens is laden with significance. The 68,000-capacity ground in central Kolkata is more than just a cricket stadium — it is the spiritual home of Sourav Ganguly’s career and a sacred site for Bengali cricket fans. Ganguly played some of his most memorable innings at Eden Gardens, including the famous 2001 Test against Australia where India staged one of cricket’s greatest comebacks.

The production team has reportedly been granted access to the ground for a 15-day schedule, during which key cricketing sequences — including match scenes, training montages, and off-field moments at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) offices — will be filmed. The CAB, which Ganguly later headed as president, is located adjacent to the ground, and scenes depicting his administrative career are also expected to be shot in Kolkata.

Local Kolkata residents and cricket fans gathered outside Eden Gardens on Wednesday, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rao in character. Social media was flooded with photos and videos from the crowds, with many fans holding up posters of both Rao and Ganguly and expressing excitement about the biopic.

About the Film

Dada: The Sourav Ganguly Story is expected to chronicle the life and career of one of India’s most influential cricketers — from his early days in the Behala neighbourhood of south Kolkata, through his explosive international debut, his transformative captaincy that reshaped Indian cricket’s attitude, and his post-retirement career as BCCI president.

Ganguly, popularly known as “Dada” (elder brother in Bengali), is credited with instilling an aggressive, never-back-down mentality in Indian cricket during his captaincy from 2000 to 2005. His iconic celebration at Lord’s in 2002 — removing his shirt and waving it from the balcony after India won the NatWest Trophy final — remains one of the most powerful images in Indian sporting history.

The film is also expected to explore the controversies that marked Ganguly’s career — his public feud with coach Greg Chappell, his dramatic dropping from the Indian team, and his equally dramatic comeback that culminated in being part of India’s 2011 World Cup victory as a selector and administrator.

Why Rajkummar Rao?

The casting of Rajkummar Rao — rather than a more physically imposing actor — initially raised eyebrows among fans who expected someone with a larger frame to play the 5’11” Ganguly. However, Rao’s track record of delivering award-worthy performances through sheer commitment to his characters has won over most sceptics.

Critics point to Rao’s National Award-winning performances in Shahid and Newton, as well as his commercial successes in Stree and Srikanth, as evidence that he possesses the range to capture both Ganguly’s intensity on the field and his complex off-field persona. The actor has spoken publicly about his admiration for Ganguly, calling the role “the most challenging and exciting of my career.”

Ganguly himself has reportedly been involved in the production as a consultant, providing insights into personal moments and behind-the-scenes stories that will give the film an authenticity that purely research-based biopics often lack.

The Cricket Biopic Wave

The Ganguly biopic joins a growing list of cricket-themed films that have found success in Indian cinema. From MS Dhoni: The Untold Story starring Sushant Singh Rajput to 83 with Ranveer Singh as Kapil Dev and Sachin: A Billion Dreams, cricket biopics have consistently resonated with Indian audiences who share a near-religious devotion to the sport.

What makes the Ganguly story particularly compelling for cinema is the dramatic arc — a gifted but temperamental cricketer from a privileged Kolkata family who had to fight internal politics, coaching disputes, and public perception to establish himself as the man who changed Indian cricket’s DNA. The Chappell saga alone provides enough dramatic material for a full film, and the question of how the filmmakers handle these controversial episodes will be closely watched.

The production is expected to continue in Kolkata through early June before moving to international locations for scenes depicting Ganguly’s career highlights abroad. A release date has not been officially announced, but industry sources suggest a late 2026 or early 2027 window, potentially timed to coincide with the start of the IPL season.

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