Chhota Bheem

Chhota Bheem is an Indian animated comedy-adventure television series. This show available in English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Outline
The series was 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. 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 help other kingdoms. It is one of the most popular animated series for children in India. There are also currently 47 movies that are based on the show.
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, He is a nine-year-old boy who is brave, strong and intelligent. Bheem's rival is Kalia, who is envious of Bheem's popularity, Kalia along with his sidekicks who are always jealous of Bheem, they are twin brothers named Dholu and Bholu with their "Ustaad" Kalia, they always plot to embarrass and defeat Bheem, but never succeed. Most of the initial stories revolted around Bheem and his friends Raju, Jaggu and Chutki and rivalry with Kalia and his friends. Bheem gets his strength from laddoo, an orange Indian sweet. However, as the series has progressed, this Kalia topic has been adopted as the subject less often, although Kalia is still just as eager prove himself superior to Bheem, A large number of episodes also focus on Bheem and his team solving various problems affecting the village. Fighting Misty evils that seek to harm Dholakpur or its inhabitants and their antics which often get them into trouble during early days. Broadcaster Pogo TV has stressed that storyline be kept simple and mysteries and complex plot avoided as all cost as the viewers where too young to understand but today, there are no restrictions.
Characters
Main
Chhota Bheem: Bheem is the main protagonist of the show. He is an adventurous, fun-loving but virtuous boy who is gifted with superhuman strength. This strength can be powered up by consuming laddoos, his favorite food. Bheem appears bare-chested, wearing an orange dhoti and a gold pendant. He has brown hair.
His power is a boon for his village, Dholakpur, which is constantly beset by all kinds of problems. Bheem is beloved and respected by the village for being l kind and using 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. Having gained king Raja Indraverma's trust, Bheem discusses the village issues with the ministers of the kingdom. Being intelligent and strong he represents Dholakpur in various matters and competitions.
Chutki: Chutki is a 7 year old young girl and the daughter of Tuntun Mausi, the sweet-maker. She often helps Bheem sneak laddoos from her mother's shop. Chutki is the brains of the team. She wears a purple floral lehenga and has her brown hair in twin braids. Her name means young or little one.
Chutki is Bheem's closest friend and he often relies on her to solve any puzzles or difficult situations with her intelligence. She first met Bheem, Raju, and Jaggu when Bheem saved her from a raging bull. While she is responsible for her household chores and gentle towards everyone and other creatures, she can be tough when the situation demands it.
In many episodes and films, she is depicted as being good at martial arts. Chutki frequently supplies Bheem with laddoos on missions to boost his strength.
Raju: Raju is a daring, and mischievous boy, whose role model is Bheem. He is a bald toddler who wears nothing but his blue underpants.
Raju's size belies his courage, which he gets from his father, commander of the King's army. Raju also wants to be the commander of the Army. He is a prodigy at archery and has won the "Arjuna Cup". Raju is also very articulate and intelligent for his age, being able to converse and follow along with his older friends on their adventures with no difficulty.
Raju is a diminutive form of Raja and means "king".
Jaggu: Jaggu is a blue, talking monkey. Jaggu has a special way of solving problems, using tricks accompanied by his sense of humor. Bheem learns useful techniques like swinging from trees from him. Whenever they are really hungry, Jaggu assists them in stealing laddus. He also loves playing tricks on Kalia, Dholu, and Bholu.
Kalia: Kalia is an envious bully. He is depicted as an ambitious boy who is always outshone by Bheem. He has two fearful lackeys, Dholu and Bholu, twin brothers who sometimes help him with his plans and, at other times, quickly abandon him. He often blows his own trumpet by claiming he is the strongest and most courageous person. Whenever any problem arises, he runs away. Despite his competitive personality, he also helps the gang out with important matters, such as an attack on Dholakpur. He is depicted as a tall and overweight boy wearing only a short tied-up grey dhoti and lots of gold jewelry.
Kalia is a nickname that means "dark one" or "tan-skinned".
Dholu and Bholu: Dholu and Bholu are identical twins and followers of Kalia. Though they are not strong themselves, they bask in Kalia's strength. Despite their support for a bully, they have kind hearts and have also won a trophy for their close brotherhood. But sometimes, they argue among themselves and get scolded by Kalia. Their clothing differentiates them, each twin wears a similar set of olive green and brown turban, t-shirt, and pants with opposite coloring.
Dholu means "drummer" and Bholu means "innocent".
Recurring
Indumati: Indumati is the Princess of Dholakpur and daughter of Indraverma and the elder sister of Ravi Varma. She is a kindhearted 7-year-old girl. She is also a friend of Bheem, Chutki, Raju, Jaggu, Kalia, Dholu, and Bholu. She has blue eyes, and reddish brown hair, and wears a blue and gold with an orange flower adorning her hair. While she seldom joins the gang on missions, she is a trusted friend and supports them.
Indraverma: The King of Dholakpur and the father of Indumati and Ravi Varma. He lives in a palace on top of a hill overlooking Dholakpur. He mostly relies on Bheem for any crisis in the kingdom and trusts the boy greatly.
Kichak: Kichak is a teen wrestler from Pehelwanpur. Like Kalia, Kichak is also jealous of Bheem, since Bheem is more popular than him. But he is defeated on all occasions. Kichak's jealousy towards Bheem is a bit more severe than Kalia's. Other members in Kichak's gang include Chhotta Mannu, Birju, Popatya and Motu.
Chhota Manu: He is also a character from Pehelwanpur. Chhota Manu is physically strong and clever. He is a rival of Raju, whom he never managed to defeat. He is a sidekick as well as a friend of Kichak, making various plans to defeat Bheem.
Daku Mangal Singh: Mangal Singh is a bandit who used to terrorize Dholakpur when he was free. But he was arrested by Bheem. He often comes to rob Dholakpur. His villain rival was Khan Singh, and his brother was Daku Amangal Singh.
Dhooni Baba: Dhooni Baba is a sage who lives in a cave. In the former episodes, he was called "Baba Bol Bachchan". He had a body smeared with ash and was seen meditating on some needles. Indeed, Dhoni means "incense". Later, his body has no ash smeared and he walks with a walking stick. He is described as a sage who knows almost everything and has divine powers. He gives advice and also a solution to Bheem and his friends.
Tuntun: Tuntun, or Tuntun aunt, She is Chutki's mother. She owns a sweet shop where she sells her famous homemade laddoos. Bheem often aggravates her by stealing laddoos, but she is also kind-hearted like Chutki. Sometimes she gives Bheem laddoos to make him stronger and help him defeat his enemies.
Professor Shastri Dhoomketoo: He is an inventor who lives In Gyanpur ("village of knowledge"). He often ends up getting problems with his inventions, like getting his inventions stolen, or malfunctioning. His inventions include the time machine, a hot air balloon, a super-fast bicycle, etc.
Bheem's Family
Bheem has a family of five members:
Mother: Bheem's unnamed mother lives with him in their home. She is shown as a cameo in many episodes and some movies.
Grandfather- Bheem's grandfather is also a fighter like Bheem. Bheem resembles his grandfather in the fighting. His grandfather owns a magical trunk having magical items in it. He also likes laddoos. Some of his magical items include his magical telescope, in which he protected some fairies from Goblings(demons), magical comb which made hair growth faster,etc. The trunk also included an umbrella which he gifted to Bheem for his bravery.
Father: He was shown in the episode ''Diwali Dhamaka'' and was responsible for bringing the two-headed demon to Dholakpur. But also gives an idea to Bheem regarding that demon's death. But in the movie Bheem in the city, Bheem's father, whose name is Abhimanyu, works in Raunak Sheher.
Grandmother: His grandmother is never shown in the series but was shown in an advertisement.
Shivani: Bheem's foster sister is Shivani. She lives in Pehelwanpur and runs a dhaba there named "Shivani ka Dhaba". Her father is falsely imprisoned by the cruel king, and to free him she needs 500 gold coins. But the pehalwan (wrestler) Dabbu tries to take over the Dhaba. Bheem comes to her rescue and even frees her father from jail. Their close relationship is demonstrated in an episode where she sent Bheem a letter on Raksha Bandhan, not writing much, leading Bheem to think something was suspicious and going to see her. After he solved her problems she tied a rakhi on his wrist.
Others
Buri Jadugarni (transl. The Evil Sorceress): Buri Jadugarni is an evil sorceress who is an enemy of Bheem. She tried to become the queen of Dholakpur but never succeeded because of Bheem and his team. She is also called Buri Pari (transl. Evil Fairy) or Buri Chudail (transl. Evil Witch).
Acchi Jadugarni (transl. The Good Sorceress): She is a good Sorceress who helps Bheem in defeating Buri Jadugarni. She is also called Achhi Pari (transl. Good Fairy). She lives in Agadam, a place of good wizards and witches, or the forest of Dholakpur.
Avi Chacha: He is another scientist who lives in Dholakpur. He is also a friend of Professor Shastri Dhoomketu. He invented many gadgets but all were destroyed.
Kaptaan Singh: He is the head captain of a ship of Dholakpur, Dholakpur Queen.
Raaka: He is the sidekick of Daku Mangal Singh.
Daku Chacha: He is an experienced dacoit uncle of Daku Mangal Singh.
Kirmada: He is a demon who tries to attack Dholakpur, since he had lost his war against Dholakpur 500 years ago, when he was alive and was a king of a kingdom and conquered all the surrounding kingdoms. He has appeared in the Chhota Bheem Aur Krishna film series and was also in a few of the Super Bheem film series.
Zimbara and Mayandri: They are the siblings of Kirmada.
Tabora: Son of Kirmada.
Kallasura and Chalchaaya: They are the sons or successors of Kirmada.
Guests
Ganesh: Ganesh was shown in the movie Chhota Bheem and Ganesh in the Amazing Odyssey and was also shown in some episodes and other films.
Krishna: Krishna is a character who appears in a few episodes and she also appeared in the Chhota Bheem Aur Krishna film series. He also appears in one of the top recent films of Chhota Bheem, which was released in October 2021. Its name was Chhota Bheem Ki Citti Pitti Gul.
Hanuman: Hanuman is an Indian god that Bheem met in this Chhota Bheem movie, Chhota Bheem Aur Hanuman.
Coco: He was a fictional monkey character which had come in the advertisement of Chocos. He protected Chocoland, which is abundant in chocolate and had a chocolate volcano and chocofall.
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 contents aired were mythological in nature. His company produced Vikram Betal and Krishna animation shows which convinced Pogo TV to give chance. After five years of conception, Chhota Bheem made his first appearance in 2008 on Pogo TV. It succeeded and continued to run. He is financed by Samir Jain, who belongs to the famous Jain-cum-Agarwal business family from Meerut. Raj Viswanadha, who did the writing for the first four years of Bheem before leaving the series, 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 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.
Spin-offs
Mighty Raju
Mighty Raju is the first spin-off series of Chhota Bheem. It is about the character Raju in the modern world, who has superpowers and is known as "Mighty Raju". He lives in the modern city, AryaNagar.
Arjun - Prince of Bali
Arjun - Prince of Bali is the second spin-off series of Chhota Bheem. It is based on the Chhota Bheem and the 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 show the adventures of Arjun during his childhood. It exists in the same timeline as Chhota Bheem. The series aired from 1 June 2014 to 11 September 2016 on Disney Channel India.
Super Bheem
Super Bheem is third spin-off series of Chhota Bheem. It was going to launch in 2017, but it was launched in May 2016 with the birthday special movie Main hoon Super Bheem. It is an updated version of Bheem with superpowers. Super Bheem is based on the 24th movie of Chhota Bheem, Chhota Bheem: Sky Dragon. The Super Bheem show is 3D animation whereas Chhota Bheem is traditional 2D animation. It originally premiered on Pogo TV in 2017 but it also aired in 2019 on Cartoon Network India.
Mighty Little Bheem
Mighty Little Bheem is the fourth spin-off. It launched in 2019 on Netflix. It is intended for younger children. In this series, the story's focus is on 1 - 2 year old Bheem. Another thing to note is that in this series, Kalia (Bheem's Friend) is known as Vijay instead.
Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka
Chotta Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka is the fifth spin-off of Chotta Bheem. It launched on January 12, 2020. It was the third series in 3D CGI format. The series is based on the Chhota Bheem film of the same name.