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A friend in deed…

Captivating Watch “Little Krishna” at 6.30 p.m.

Finally, Nick has also fallen for local content! Yes, the leading kids’ channel has come up with the timeless tale of the naughtiest and the most courageous kid ever, in collaboration with Big Animation and India Heritage Foundation. “For the last two years we were looking for a local production which passes through all our filters – the character should be endearing, the script should be engaging and the production should be world class. Little Krishna fits the bill. He is an ideal friend, saviour, musician…it has taken around seven years of research and development,” says Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Senior Vice President, Nick India. However, she insists that local content can’t guarantee success. “Kids don’t use such filters for judging entertainment and a close look at the top characters on all the kids’ channels shows that the top rating for a so-called foreign character – be it Ninja or Mr. Bean.”

But how come we always provide mythological figures to keep our kids enchanted? “It is easier to develop stories around them,” admits Ashish S.K., CEO, BIG Animation. “We must not forget that the West also relied on stories of Alice in Wonderland and Snow White when their animation industry started. We have a lot of catching up to do. It takes at least a decade to develop a brand out of a character. We have talent for the production – that’s why India is a major outsourcing destination for animation – but we need to develop pre-production set ups where talented youngsters could ideate, visualise, conceptualise and write scripts around fresh characters.” Ashish says the series does’t follow a linear storyline, as the idea is to make Little Krishna an international brand.

“These are 13 standalone stories and in each of them Krishna demolishes a demon. We have taken special care about the authenticity of characters and stories. Even Krishna’s dhoti has undergone the scanner of the research team of India Heritage Foundation. It is only with demons that we have taken some creative liberties. But we have made sure there is no bloodbath.” Nina reveals that kids’ channels is the only segment that prospered despite IPL. “Kids have their own prime times!” Indeed.

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