Ishan Shukla created his first comic at the age of six and continued developing original comic work throughout his school years. After working in Singapore’s animation industry for several years, he returned to India and single-handedly completed his first short film, Schirkoa. The film, which later inspired his animated feature Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, received over 30 awards and became the first Indian animated short to be longlisted for the Academy Awards®, followed by screenings at more than 120 international film festivals.

He has since founded his own animation studio, Red Cigarette Media, where he focuses on creating deeply personal and artistically driven animated feature films for adult audiences, bridging arthouse sensibilities with broader appeal.

Ishan Shukla also directed The Bandits of Golak, one of the nine short films in the Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 anthology from Lucasfilm, which premiered in May 2023 on Disney+.