Chhota Bheem completed a decade on television making kids smile, dance and sing with him. The dhoti clad kid with expressive eyes and enigmatic smile made his way into every Indian heart in becoming the most loved and recognised animated character of the nation.
Created by Green Gold Animation CEO Rajiv Chilaka in 2003, the lad made his debut on Indian television screens in 2008 when Turner Broadcasting System, launched it on their kids entertainment channel, Pogo. Since then, the journey has been a miraculous one making it one of the most successful animated series.
Speaking at the occasion, Chilaka said, “I am fortunate to be the creator of Chhota Bheem and am thankful to the kid audiences across India. Producing a show in animation is not a one man’s show, it needs a large team. I want to thank the entire team at Green Gold – writers, voice artists, voice director, singers, music director, my family and friends. Above all I would thank the team at Pogo and the management at Turner.”
With 277 episodes and 26 television movies, Chhota Bheem has reached every household. He made a successful transition onto the silver screen with three theatrical releases, Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan (2012) followed by Chhota Bheem–the Throne of Bali (2013) and Chhota Bheem- Himalayan Adventure (2016). Bheem’s next big screen offering, Chhota Bheem-KungFu Dhamaka (2018), won the best animation promo film at the FICCI Frames, BAF Awards, 2018.
Turner India’s executive director network head – kids, South Asia, Krishna Desai said, “We have been truly privileged to have made a significant impact upon the lives of millions of children across South Asia and beyond, through our partnership with Green Gold. This decade marks not just a significant milestone of the association between Pogo and Green Gold, but also of the standard set by them for the wider Indian animation industry.”
The huge fan-base and love for Bheem led to the creation of Green Gold Licensing and Merchandising which has more than 4000 SKUs and has partnered with over 100 brands such as Asian Paints, Dabur, Mattel, Kellogg’s, Godrej, Hindustan Unilever, Parle-G and Kokuyo Camlin to name a few, bringing the magic of Bheem into the lives of his fans.
With the emergence of OTT platforms, kids will now be able to view their favourite Bheem whenever and wherever they wish. Bheem’s birthday celebration brought in another success story with his new avatar which will be seen soon in Mighty Little Bheem on Netflix boasting of first kids’ original series from India. With this association, Bheem will extend his ever-growing reach to over 190 countries worldwide.
The birthday party turned exciting when Chhota Bheem along with his friends danced to the tunes of the upcoming Chhota Bheem musical by musicians Sachin and Jigar. The celebration had Bheem’s fans joining him to cut his specially made laddoo cake!
