Special Report
‘Made in India’ characters pave way for glocalisation of kids genre: Nina Jaipuria
Children are a dynamic audience and their entertainment preferences are constantly evolving. The kids’ category in India is therefore reposed with the challenging task of keeping the most dynamic set of audiences constantly engaged and entertained. Over the last few years the most noted shift amongst kids has been an increasing inclination towards local characters that they relate to and can engage with even beyond television. Great story telling based in familiar settings brought alive through elements like dialect and lifestyle have been key to ensuring that children strike a bond with the character. Infusing local nuances that drive familiarity, a sense of belonging and relatability have hence become drivers to creating affinity for local characters. Local content curated from start to finish in India is therefore proving to be the game changer for the kids’ genre and has defined the way kids’ channels have evolved in India. Unlike the earlier days, today the most popular characters in the kid’s genre are local Indian characters like Motu, Patlu, Chota Bheem, Doggy Don, etc. The warm welcoming of the latest entrant into the kid’s category i.e. Nickelodeon’s very own super-kid Shiva is another example of the love and affinity that kids have for local characters and shows.
With the soaring popularity of these “Made in India” characters, the genre has further widened its appeal with local character based “Made for TV films,” thus adding to the engagement and viewing experience for children. Such made for TV films of our popular characters Motu Patlu and Doggy Don of the Pakdam Pakdai gang continue to top the rating charts, emerging as a clear favourite amongst children. These characters are no more just a mere viewing experience for children but have forged a lasting bond with them. These local characters have now become a part of every child’s inner circle as their best friend, role model and confidante.
At Nickelodeon, we truly believe in the power of local content to engage and connect with children. Each of our iconic “Made in India” characters like Motu, Patlu, Shiva, Doggy Don and Chotu have helped us create great resonance amongst children. We have taken these iconic characters out of television screens into the daily lives of children through on ground events, consumer products, digital games, etc aligning to the evolving consumption patterns of entertainment through various platforms.
Curating local content comes with its own set of challenges. However we are in the business of engaging and entertaining children and have always endeavoured to give them the best of stories, characters and quality of animation. We have thus overcome challenges like escalating animation costs, lack of specialised talent to create good content and scripts by investing in a business model that is a win-win for all stakeholders. It has provided great quality of content for the viewer translating to better viewership for the broadcaster, widespread reach for brands within their target groups and also facilitated interesting and innovative integrations for advertisers. This has also fuelled the growth momentum of the animation industry in India.
Kids are at the core of all we do at Nickelodeon. Curating local content and owning IPs thus enables us to create an ecosystem that amplifies our engagement further. For instance
1. Motu Patlu merchandise like, ride on’s, apparel, stationery and the back to school range have allowed children to make them a part of their inner circle
2. Games of Motu Patlu and Shiva have kept them engaged online and allowed off screen interactivity with their favourite characters.
3. On ground meet and greets with Motu Patlu, Shiva and the Pakdam Pakdai gang have given children up-close and personal experiences with their favourite toons.
4. Promo licensing partnerships like the latest Motu Patlu promotional pack of Mc Vities biscuits and Yellow diamonds have allowed kids to enjoy their favourite treats with their favourite characters.
These engagement opportunities also provide ancillary revenue streams thus bringing more scale to the entire ecosystem.
With India witnessing a digitisation drive, premium local content has emerged as a key differentiator for the discerning viewers with a wider variety of entertainment choices. Having made our mark in India, this superior local content has also demonstrated great potential and has made an indelible mark in the global animation landscape. We are already seeing instances of this with many of our local animation productions making a global foray. For instance Motu Patlu is now present across five countries, Pakdam Pakdai as Rat-a-Tat has been syndicated across seven countries. Our latest character, the super kid Shiva showcased at the latest chapter of MIPCOM has also received tremendous response and talks of international syndication for our new hero are underway.
The Indian animation industry led by the kid’s entertainment genre is at the cusp of the next echelon of growth where opportunities are galore. High quality of animation, great story telling and engaging “Made in India” characters are not only capturing hearts and minds in India but also making global in-roads, paving the way for glocalisation of the kids genre. Jai Ho!
(Disclaimer: These are purely personal views of Viacom18 EVP and head – kids cluster Nina Jaipuria and Indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)
MUMBAI: Some friendships are made in heaven; others are coded in Mumbai. Hamara Vinayak, the first-ever digital original from Siddharth Kumar Tewary’s Swastik Stories, turns the divine into the delightful, serving up a story that’s equal parts start-up hustle and spiritual hustle.
Some tech start-ups chase unicorns. This one already has a god on board. Hamara Vinayak takes the leap from temple bells to notification pings and it does so with heart, humour and a healthy dose of the divine.
At its core, the show asks a simple but audacious question: what if God wasn’t up there, but right beside you, maybe even debugging your life over a cup of chai?
The show’s tagline, “God isn’t distant… He’s your closest friend” perfectly captures its quirky soul. Across its first two episodes, screened exclusively for media in Mumbai, the series proves that enlightenment can come with a good punchline.
The series follows a group of ambitious young entrepreneurs running a Mumbai-based tech start-up that lets people around the world book exclusive virtual poojas at India’s most revered shrines. But as their app grows, so do their ethical grey zones. Into this chaos walks Vinayak, played with soulful serenity and sly wit by the charming Namit Das, a young man whose calm smile hides something celestial.
He’s got the peaceful look of a saint but the wit of someone who could out-think your favourite stand-up comic. Around him spins a crew of dream-driven youngsters – Luv Vispute, Arnav Bhasin, Vaidehi Nair and Saloni Daini who run a Mumbai-based tech start-up offering devotees across the world the chance to book “exclusive” poojas at India’s most sacred shrines. It’s a business plan that blends belief and broadband – and, as the story unfolds, also tests the moral compass of its ambitious founders.
“The first time I read the script, I found the character very pretty,” Namit joked at the post-screening interaction. “It’s a beautiful thought that God isn’t distant, he’s your closest friend. And playing Vinayak, you feel that calm but also his cleverness. He’s the friend who makes you think.”
The reactions to the series ranged from smiles to sighs of wonder. Viewers were charmed by the show’s sincerity and sparkle, a quality that stems from its creator’s belief that faith can be funny without being frivolous.
Among the cast, Luv Vispute shines brightest, his comic timing adding sparkle to the show’s more reflective beats. But what keeps Hamara Vinayak engaging is the easy rhythm of its writing – one moment touching, the next teasing, always gently reminding us that spirituality doesn’t have to be solemn.
Luv spoke fondly of his long association with Swastik. “Since my first show was with Swastik, this feels like home,” he said. “Every project with them is positive, feel-good, and this one just had such a different vibe. I truly feel blessed.”
Saloni Daini, who brings infectious warmth to her role, added that she signed up the moment she heard the show was about “Bappa.”
“We shot during the Ganpati festival,” she recalled. “The energy on set was incredible festive, faithful, and full of laughter. It’s such a relatable story for our generation: chaos, friendship, love, kindness, and faith all mixed together.”
Vaidehi Nair and Arnav Bhasin complete the ensemble, each representing different shades of ambition and morality in the start-up’s journey. Their camaraderie is easy and believable, a testament to how much the cast connected off-screen as well.
This clever fusion of mythology and modernity plays to India’s two enduring loves, entertainment and faith. Mythology has long been the comfort zone of Indian storytellers, from the televised epics of the 1980s to the glossy remakes that still command prime-time TRPs. For decades, gods have been our most bankable heroes. But Hamara Vinayak tweaks the formula not by preaching, but by laughing with its characters, and sometimes, at their confusion about where divinity ends and data begins.
Creator Siddharth Kumar Tewary, long hailed as Indian television’s myth-maker for shows like Mahabharat, Radha Krishn and Porus, explained the show’s intent with characteristic clarity, “This is our first story where we are talking directly to the audience, not through a platform,” he said. “We wanted to connect young people with our culture to say that God isn’t someone you only worship; He’s your friend, walking beside you, even when you take the wrong path. The story may be simple, but the thought is big.”
That blend of philosophy and playfulness runs through the show. “We had to keep asking ourselves why we’re doing this,” Tewary added. “It’s tricky to make something positive and spiritual for the OTT audience, they’ve changed, they want nuance, not sermons. But when the purpose is clear, everything else aligns.”
For the creator of some of Indian TV’s most lavish spectacles, Hamara Vinayak marks a refreshing tonal shift. Here, Tewary trades celestial kingdoms for co-working spaces and cosmic battles for office banter. Yet his signature remains: an eye for allegory, a love for faith-infused storytelling, and an understanding that belief is most powerful when it feels personal.
Hamara Vinayak, after all, feels less like a sermon and more like a conversation over chai about what success means, what faith costs, and why even the gods might be rooting for a start-up’s Series A round.
As Namit Das reflected during the Q&A, “Life gives us many magical, divine moments we just forget to notice them. Sometimes even through a phone screen, you see something that redirects you. That’s a Vinayak moment.”
The series also mirrors a larger cultural pivot. As audiences migrate from television to OTT, myth-inspired tales are finding new form and flexibility online. The digital screen lets creators like Tewary reinvent the genre, giving ancient ideas a modern interface, without losing the emotional charge that’s made mythology India’s storytelling backbone for decades.
In a country where faith trends faster than any hashtag, Hamara Vinayak feels both familiar and refreshingly new, a comedy that’s blessed with heart, humour and just enough philosophy to keep the binge holy.
For a country where mythology remains the oldest streaming service, Tewary’s move from TV to OTT feels both natural and necessary. Indian storytellers have always turned to gods for drama, guidance and TRPs from Ramayan and Mahabharat on Doordarshan to glossy mytho-dramas on prime time. But digital platforms allow creators to remix reverence with realism, and in Hamara Vinayak, faith gets an interface upgrade.
The result is a show that feels like a warm chat with destiny, part comedy, part contemplation. And in an age of cynicism, that’s no small miracle.
As Tewary put it, smiling at his cast, “The message had to be positive. We just wanted to remind people that even in chaos, God hasn’t unfriended you.”
With 5 episodes planned, Hamara Vinayak promises to keep walking that fine line between laughter and light. It’s mythology with memes, devotion with dialogue, and a digital-age reminder that even the cloud has a silver lining or perhaps, a divine one.
If the first two episodes are any sign, the show doesn’t just bridge heaven and earth, it gives both a Wi-Fi connection.
