Chhota Bheem

Chhota Bheem
Characters: (clockwise) Jaggu (monkey), Kalia, Dholu, Bholu, Chutki, Raju, Chhota Bheem, Appu (elephant)
Also known as	Little Bheem, Bheem
Genre	Comedy, Adventure, Action
Written by	Raj Viswanadha Arun Shendurnikar Nidhi Anand
Opening theme	"Chhota Bheem"
Ending theme	"Chhota Bheem" (Karaoke)
Country of origin	India
Original language(s)	English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil
No. of seasons	7 (2008-2016)
No. of episodes	425 episodes, 26 made for television movies
Production
Running time	11 minutes
Production company(s)	Green Gold Animation
Distributor	Green Gold Animation
Release
Original network	Pogo TV
Original release	2008 – present
External links
Website
Production website

Chhota Bheem is an Indian animated comedy adventure television series created by Rajiv Chilaka. Premiered in 2008 on Pogo TV, it focuses on adventures of a boy named Bheem and his friends in the fictional kingdom of Dholakpur.^[1] In this series, Bheem and his friends are usually involved in protecting Raja Indravarma, the king of Dholakpur and his kingdom from various evil forces. Sometimes they also helps other kingdoms. It is one of the most popular animated series for children in India.^[2]

Plot

The series is set in the fictional kingdom of Dholakpur, somewhere in rural India. The series revolves around Bheem, sometimes referred to as Chhota Bheem due to his small age, a nine-year-old boy who is brave, strong and intelligent.^[3] Bheem's rival is Kalia, who is envious of Bheem's popularity. Kalia, along with his sidekicks, twin brothers Dholu and Bholu, always plot to embarrass and defeat Bheem, but never succeed. Most of the initial stories revolved around Bheem and his friends Chutki, Raju and Jaggu's rivalry with Kalia and his friends. However, as the series has progressed, this topic has been adopted as the subject less often, although Kalia is still just as eager to prove himself superior to Bheem. A large number of episodes also focus on Bheem and his team solving various problems affecting the village, unravelling mysteries, fighting evils that seek to harm Dholakpur or its inhabitants, and on their antics which often get them into trouble. During Bheem's early days the broadcaster Pogo had stressed that storyline be kept simple and mysteries and complex plot avoided as all cost as the viewers were too young to understand but nowadays there is no such restriction. The timeline and Dholakpur too have been allowed to become fluid and stretchable and this has caused immense confusion to the kids even as Bheem continues to rule the airwaves. Supernatural events have often been used in episodes, like Dholakpur being attacked by the demon Kirmada, the evil witch, or giants; Bheem and his friends being affected by dark magic and curses, and so on. Bheem and his team participating in various competitions in Dholakpur or in adjoining kingdoms, is also a common theme, so is celebration of common Indian festivities.

Chhota Bheem's title track has become popular. The flute theme were given by Raj Mohan Sinha, but this has neither been credited nor acknowledged anywhere.

Characters

Chhota Bheem

Bheem is an adventurous and fun-loving 9-year-old boy who is gifted with extraordinary strength. This power is a boon for his village Dholakpur, which is constantly beset by all kinds of perils. Almost all the children of Dolakpur, a majority of the adults, as well as Raja Indravarma himself, look up to Bheem for solutions to their problems, ranging from mysterious disappearances of some villagers and attacks by wild animals, to drought situations in the village. Bheem has a big heart and he always uses his strength to help those who are poor, wronged or needy, and may be considered a little guardian of the villagers and the animals in and around Dholakpur. Bheem is often seen defeating enemies who attack Dholakpur or harm the villagers, like the evil demon Kirmada, the robber Mangal Singh, and the evil witch. Through his valiant acts, Bheem has earned the trust of Dholakpur, and Raja Indravarma. Indravarma regards Bheem so highly that he often discusses major issues regarding the kingdom's welfare with him and his friends, and they are also sent to neighbouring kingdoms as Indravarma's emissaries. Bheem is often selected as Dholakpur's representative in many competitions, especially those regarding physical strength like wrestling, cycling, etc. Bheem loves food and has an insatiable appetite for laddus, which in fact, give him a surge of energy and make him even stronger than he normally is. These laddus are often stolen by Bheem from Tuntun's laddu shop, and are also offered by Tuntun's daughter Chutki, much to her mother's anger. This habit of stealing laddus is his only prominent fault. Bheem once even won a competition organised by Tuntun on who could eat the most laddus. He is also good at most sports, and is fairly intelligent. He is depicted as a fit boy, almost always wearing nothing but an orange dhoti (loose cloth worn around the groin). Bheem is a brunette and always has a tilak on his forehead.

Chutki

Chutki is a seven-year-old girl and the daughter of Tuntun, the laddu-maker. She is Bheem's closest friend, and assists him on their adventures. She had first met Bheem, Raju and Jaggu when Bheem had saved her from a raging bull. While she is responsible about her household chores and gentle towards all people and other creatures, she can be tough too, when the situation demands it. She often steals laddus for her friends from her mother's shop. Among the group, Chutki is the most intelligent. She is very skilled in chess and has won laurels for Dholakpur in the game. In many episodes, and in the telefilm 'Chhota Bheem - Masters of Shaolin', she has been depicted to be good at martial arts. She has a soft spot for Bheem and often becomes angry whenever Bheem interacts with any girl, therefore, she has a crush on Bheem and considering herself as his girl-friend and future wife and her mother as his mother-in-law. She also has many ideas or tricks to help Bheem in many of his adventures, as seen in the episodes "Pirates on the ship", and "Hercules". Surprisingly, she has been shown to be greedy for gold in the episode "The Curse of Bramhbhatt-Part 2". Chutki's hair is always tied into two plaits, she has a slender build, and she generally wears a pink two-piece dress. She is usually very calm and composed but in one episode she became angry. She defeated many people like Bulbul in girls vs girls and etc. She takes care of Bheem and likes to give him ladoos stolen from her mother. Chutki's father lives abroad in USA and Canada and comes only during some functions etc. No one knows why.

Raju

Raju is a cute, courageous and fun loving four-year-old kid, whose role model is Bheem. Raju's size belies his courage, which he gets from his father, the Senapati (chief officer) of the King's army. Raju also wants to be the Senapati of the Army. (seen in the episode "Chutki's Wish"). Mostly seen wearing a blue underwear He is very good in archery and has won the "Arjuna Cup".He often looses his temper when he sees something wrong happening. He appears as the super hero protagonist in the spinoff movie "Mighty Raju".

Jaggu Bandar

Jaggu is a talking monkey or bandar. Jaggu has his own special way of solving problems, using tricks and his amazing sense of humour. Jaggu and Bheem always have fun together, be it exploring forests or helping people with their chores. From him, Bheem learns useful techniques like swinging from trees. Whenever they are really hungry, it's Jaggu who assists Bheem in stealing laddus. He also loves playing tricks on Dholu, Bholu and Kalia. He wants to be the Protector of all animals in the jungle (seen in the episode "Chutki's Wish").

Kalia

Kalia or Kalia Pehalwan (Hindi term for wrestler), is a 10-year-old voluptuous and muscular ten-year-old bully. He is also very greedy and tries to become rich by cheating. Kalia has two silly followers, Dholu and Bholu, who sometimes help him in his plans and at other times completely abandon him. He often blows his own trumpet by claiming he is the only strongest and courageous person whenever any problem arises he runs away. In order to make Bheem lose, he often eavesdrops on him to find out what Bheem is planning. However, at times he is seen helping Bheem in common causes or in attempts to save Dholakpur.

Dholu and Bholu

Dholu and Bholu are identical twins and followers of Kalia Pahelwan. Though they are not strong themselves, they bask in Kalia's strength and are arrogant with the other kids. Occasionally, they allow themselves to be easily bribed by Bheem and Chutki and are therefore not always loyal to Kalia. Whenever Dholu and Bholu blurt out the truth about Kalia (like telling Kalia being scared of anything) they get whacked mercilessly by Kalia.

Kichak

Kichak is a 16-year-old wrestler from Pehelwanpur. He is later introduced in the series. He is jealous of Bheem, since Bheem is more popular than he is. But, he is defeated in all the occasions when he challenged Bheem for a bull race, cricket match, in a contest for champions,in a hockey match, in a football match and in many other situations. He has a couple of friends & sidekicks like Chipru, Manna, Motu & Birju etc. who aid him but also get the punishment with him. He then was noticed helping and advising a participant in the episode "Girls versus Girls", but later escaped. Unsurprisingly, he was seen helping Bheem in the movie "Bheem vs Aliens".

Chhota Mannu

He is also a character from Pehelwanpur. A strong, 5 year old child who is first shown in the episode the boxing match, he is physically strong and clever. His arch rival is Raju, whom he never managed to defeat. He is also an aid as well as a friend of Kichak.

Rajkumari Indumati

Indumati is the princess of Dholakpur. She is shown to be nice and caring. She also won the trophy along with Chutki in the episode "Girls VS Girls".

Raja Indravarma

The King of Dholakpur is King Indravarma. He is the father of Indumati. Though himself a valiant warrior, he mostly relies on Bheem for any crisis in the kingdom. He is also shown to be thoughtful on every occasion. He is a Hockey player and also played an important role in Hockey match by making Bheem win. His enemy was King Chandravarma. He is 35 years old, according to the movie "Chhota Bheem: The Rise of Kirmada". He once was given a special diamond called Kohenoor from his ancestors. But he promised to give the diamond to three of Dholakpur's most notorious criminals, Shatadhanwa, Kritavarma, and Akrur. But he broke his promise. This made the three criminals very angry. Akrur and Kritavarma had sent Shatadhanwa to kill King Indravarma. While King Indravarma was sleeping, the wicked Shatadhanwa killed him and took away the Kohinoor diamond. But thanks to the Sanjeevani plant that belonged to a learned Brahman named Gargya, the king came back to life. After getting the Kohinoor diamond, the three crimanals became upset that the king was still alive.The guilty Shatadhanwa gave the diamond to Akrur and fled Dholakpur. But Bheem and his team caught Shatadhanwa while he was fleeing. They took him to the king. King indravarma had Shatadhanwa arrested for his crime. When Akrur and Kritavarma heard that Shatadhanwa was arrested, they both went into hiding. Kritavarma stayed in Dholakpur but he was living in the guise of a barber and became the king's royal barber. Akrur was living in the guise of a minister and became the king's prime minister.

Daku Mangal Singh

Mangal Singh is a daku (dacoit) (his name is a parody of Gabbar Singh from the famous Indian film Sholay) who used to terrorize Dholakpur when he was free. But he was caught by Bheem when he went to take some plants to cure Indumati (as she was ill) and nabbed him. Soon, he escaped with the help of his followers & kidnapped the princess, but again he was caught by Bheem. In the episode "Old Enemies", he returned and robbed the Treasury but was later caught by Bheem. He, then became a small thief in the episode of "Greed".

Dhooni Baba

Dhooni Baba is a sage who lives in a cave. In the former episodes, he was called as "Baba Bol Bachchan" and has a body smeared with ash and seen meditating on some needles. Later, his body has no ash smeared and he walks with a walking stick. He is described as a sage who knows almost everything. He gives advice and also solution to Bheem & his friends. In the episode "Superheroes" he had granted Bheem & Raju to be superheroes for a day. He has helped Bheem in various occasions like in the episodes "Curse of Bramhabhatt", "Chhota Bheem Aur Krishna", "Daku Mangal Singh" and "King Chandravarma".

Tuntun Mausi

Tuntun is the mother of Chutki. She owns a laddu shop where she sells laddoos. Her laddu is considered as the most tastier one in the series. She stays mostly angry with Bheem as he steals laddoos from her shop. She usually gets angry with Kalia also and hits him with her belan.

Professor Shastri Dhoomketoo

An inventor who Lives In Gyanpur. He often ends up getting problems with his inventions, like getting his inventions stolen, or malfunctioning. His inventions include a time machine, a hot air balloon, a super fast bicycle etc. Many of his inventions were misused by Raju. There used to be Professor Avi, whose place is taken by Professor Dhoomketoo.

Behen Shivani

Bheem's foster sister is Shivani. She lives in Pehelwanpur and runs a dhaba there named "Shivani ka Dhaba". Her father is imprisoned, and to free him she needs 500 gold coins. But the Pehalwan Dabbu tries to take over the Dhaba. Bheem comes to her rescue and even frees her father from jail. In the episodes of "20-20 Cricket" and movie - Chhota Bheem: Bheem vs Aliens she has been seen supporting Bheem's team.

Avi Chacha

He is also an Inventor. He is often seen in some episodes. Later he got replaced by Prof. Dhoom Ketoo.

Arjun the prince of Bali

Arjun is an 11-year-old boy like Bheem. He is the young prince of Bali.he has a little sister named Tania, his best friend is Zimboo, a baby tiger. He is a character in the movie "Chhota Bheem and the Throne of Bali"

Gruk the Evil Scarecrow

Gruk is an 30-year-old man. He is a evil crow. He is a bad guy doing nonsense things. He is the good/bad guy in the castle with Chhota Bheem. Black pants, black shirt, Black-grey striped scarf. Gruk has no hair. Black eyebrows. Gruk only appearance in Chhota Bheem Imaginary Island. Gruk lives in the castle in Singapore.

Production

Development

Rajiv Chilaka wanted to create his own intellectual property instead of working for other companies. He established his animation studio Green Gold Animation in 2001. He had to struggle as no TV channel was ready to pick up the Indian animation content and most Indian content aired was mythological in nature. His company produced Vikram Betal and Krishna animation shows which convinced Pogo TV to give chance. After the five years of conception, Chhota Bheem made his first appearance in 2008 on Pogo TV.^[4] It succeeded and continued to run.^[2] He is financed by Samir Jain, who belongs to the famous Jain-cum-Agarwal business family from Meerut. Raj Viswanadha, Arun Shendurnikar, Nidhi Anand are prominent among those who have written the stories for the show.

Influences

Rajiv Chilaka had conceived an adventurous young boy with the strength and attributes of Bhima from Mahabharata living in an unspecified period in medieval India. He was also influenced by his childhood spent with Disney's animated shows, Tintin, Amar Chitra Katha and other superhero comics.^[2]

Broadcast

It is aired on Pogo TV in India. As of August 2011 more than 400 episodes, 29 movies have been released and aired. ^[5]

Overseas

The show was aired on Sirasa TV, in Sri Lanka with the name "Chandi".^[6] Chhota Bheem is also aired in Pakistan on Cartoon Network Pakistan and Pogo in Hindi. The show received a high rating and today Chhota Bheem is watched more than any other cartoon show in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

Reception

The show became highly successful due to its relatable characters to kids and vernacular nature. It is considered as the India's largest childrens' entertainment brand. The show has viewership of 40 million viewers in India and beyond. The brand is valued around ₹ 300 crore in 2013.^[2]

The show is criticized for its addictive nature, violence and brand associations.^[2]

Other Media

Films

Several feature films were released in cinema while many films are directly released on television.

Feature films

• Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan (2012)^[4]
• Chhota Bheem and the Throne of Bali (2013)^[4]
• Chhota Bheem: Himalayan Adventure (2016)^[7]

Television films

• Chhota Bheem And Krishna
• Chhota Bheem: Journey to Petra
• Chhota Bheem: Master of Shaolin
• Chhota Bheem: Dholakpur to Kathmandu
• Chhota Bheem and the Crown of Valhalla
• Chhota Bheem and the Incan Adventure
• Chhota Bheem and the Shinobi Secret
• Super Bheem: Hawamein Halla (2016)^[8]
• Super Bheem: Aakhri Chunauti (2016)^[8]

Spinoff

Mighty Raju is a spin-off of Chhota Bheem character Raju who has a superpowers and lives in the modern city, Aryanagar.

Arjun: Prince of Bali is a spin-off of Chhota Bheem, it is a 30-minute 52 episode action adventure comedy series based on the Chhota Bheem and Throne Of Bali character Arjun. Arjun is the young prince of Bali. It features his adventures with his friends and pet Zimbu, a baby tiger. Each episode consists of two stories and is targeted for kids up to 13 years of age. The series will show adventures of Arjun during his childhood. It exists in the same timeline as that of Chhota Bheem. It premiered from 1 June at 9 am on Disney Channel India.

Other

Green Gold Animation launched merchandise and comics in 2009, and toys in 2010. The had brand association with many products such as a drink, soups, fans, stationary, bags, biscuits. They also produced mobile games including educational ones.^[2] The merchandise portfolio expanded to more than 300 products and they established merchandise store franchise Green Gold Store which has stores in several cities of India.^[4]

References