Everyone knows how Batman, Superman and Spiderman captivate the fantasy world for Western kids by displaying Western culture and values. The Asian equivalent of these American superheroes, Chhota Bheem is the kid superhero cartoon of the Indian subcontinent. He is the literary fictional representation of an Indian boy of nine years old from an ordinary village named Dholakpur who displays the qualities of wisdom and courage that one associates with a superhero. Although Chhota Bheem does not wear a costume or develop any supernatural powers, he is a replica of natural strength and bravery that inspires Indian children through his daily habit of drinking milk, eating healthy food, and exercising. Whenever any dacoit, robber, or evil pesters the people of Dholakpur, Chhota Bheem runs to their rescue. He fights off all his enemies by himself without using any weapons. Sometimes Bheem also encounters the hatred of demons entering the realms of Dholakpur, and he uses the weapon of love that he gets through the support of all the villagers to send the demons back crying. Almost every Indian kid in the household loves watching this inspiring cartoon during their free time.
WHO INVENTED CHHOTA BHEEM
Rajiv Chilaka is the founder and CEO of Green Gold Animations based in the Indian state of Hyderabad, which created the cartoon Chhota Bheem and transformed it into an animated series of films. Although there have been debates about this cartoon’s release, it first appeared in 2008 on Pogo TV. It became a huge success and got financed by Samir Jain (a prominent Indian businessman). Today Chhota Bheem has become an integral part of every kid’s life.
CHHOTA BHEEM’S GANG
Chhota Bheem derives his motivation to live life and help others through his gang of kind-hearted friends, who always guide him and bring a smile to his face when he gets disturbed. His team of friends includes Chutki (a soft seven-year-old girl), Raju (an innocent six-year-old boy) and Jaggu (a talking blue monkey). Bheem is also friends with Princess Indumati (the princess of Dholakpur). Bheem’s friends often accompany him during his perilous expeditions to save the world.
THE RIVAL GANG
It is humorous to see Chhota Bheem’s innocent and pure-hearted rival gang, which consists of the team leader Kalia (a muscular boy of 12 years old) and his two cute followers, Dholu and Bholu (eight-year-old identical twins). Kalia is often depicted as a bully who gets jealous of Bheem’s popularity and wishes to become the spotlight of the villagers. He exercises his frustration over Dholu and Bholu and often bullies them as they are weak and naive. However, if you think of Kalia as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter, you are thinking wrong. Although Kalia believes he is superior, he is pretty simple and often gets fooled easily by people. He is also kind-hearted and lends a helping hand to Bheem in challenging situations.
CHHOTA BHEEM’S WEAKNESS
Every superhero is known to have a weakness, and the same fact holds true for Chhota Bheem, who craves the Indian sweet Laddu. Bheem’s stomach starts growing at the sight of Laddu, and he cannot control himself as he eats plenty at a time. He believes that Laddu is the primary core of his strength. Bheem loves pestering Tuntun Mausi (Chutki’s mom), who makes delicious Indian sweets in Dholakpur, when his innocent mission comes to steal her Laddus. Tuntun Mausi often gets angry at Bheem and starts chasing him whenever he gets caught. However, she is also a kind-hearted woman, and her secret remains that she adores seeing Bheem and his friends stealing her sweets as they signify her talent.
THE CARTOON’S FUTURE
Chhota Bheem tends to have a bright future full of success and popularity as this cartoon is becoming increasingly popular outside India. In one of his interviews, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings affirms how 27 million households outside India watch this cartoon, making it reach the level of American superheroes. Chhota Bheem continues to be appreciated by everyone for his simplicity, innocence, maturity and kindness at a tender age.
