Kids
Takalani Sesame to debut in 4 new African languages
MUMBAI: Continuing its efforts to support the government‘s ‘mother tongue‘ based education policy, Takalani Sesame, the South African children’s program, has added four new languages to its program namely Sesotho, Xitsonga, isiXhosa, and Afrikaans.
Currently in production for its fifth season, the series will feature new characters and celebrity guests and will debut on SABC in August.
Additionally, in a special episode celebrating Earth Day, a “Concert In The Park” is being held. While the neighbourhood children will plant a tree, Zuzu and The Branches will perform their latest hit.
There’s also an episode dedicated to Heritage Month.
How do you say goodbye? The series helps children understand and deal with saying goodbye in different situations. From the expression of “seeing you later” to Uncle Salie preparing to leave Takalani to Kami mourning her mother, the series gives children the tools they need to help with parting from near and dear.
The new season continues to follow a holistic approach to children’s early learning and development by covering educational objectives across the domains of literacy, numeracy, and life-skills. The educational objectives are informed by the National ECD Curriculum.
“We believe that children‘s learning and development is much stronger at a young age when they build on what‘s familiar – therefore providing content in the mother tongue is an educationally sound practice. In season 5 we focus more on the marginalised languages such as Tsonga to increase our audience reach. Takalani allows children to dream and provides first class innovative content that allows children to celebrate their childhood through learning, loving, playing, laughing and realizing their potential,” said SABC head of children’s genre Charles Owen.
“Takalani,” which means “be happy” in TshiVenda, conveys the spirit of happiness and innocence. Takalani Sesame is brought to the children of South Africa through a partnership with SABC Education and Sanlam.
Initial support and funding was provided from the American people through the United States Agency for International Development in support of the South African Department of Education.
Takalani Sesame is produced by Kwasukasukela under the creative direction of Sesame Workshop in collaboration with the South African partners.
Kids
Mukta Arts and Green Gold ink MOU to animate iconic film IPs
Kalicharan, Karz, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan to spawn animated shows plus features.
MUMBAI: When classic hindi movie meets animation, the result is a fresh reel of nostalgia with a cartoon twist. Mukta Arts Ltd. and Green Gold Animation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on animated shows and feature films drawn from Mukta Arts’ four-decade treasure trove of iconic IPs. The partnership taps Mukta’s SGM Animation Studio launched in 2025 as its dedicated animation and games arm and Green Gold’s proven track record in building scalable, homegrown franchises. Creative teams from both sides have already kicked off discussions, with the first project currently in development.
The slate will draw inspiration from landmark Mukta films including Kalicharan, Karz, Hero, Karma, Ram Lakhan, Khalnayak, Saudagar and Iqbal, plus character-led spin-offs from those universes. The aim is to reimagine these stories for today’s young, global audiences while preserving their emotional core.
Green Gold Animation (home of Chhota Bheem) founder and CEO Rajiv Chilaka said, “This partnership with SGM Studios allows us to apply our experience in building long-lasting animation IPs to a truly iconic film catalogue. Together, we aim to create animated worlds that are rooted in these legendary stories, yet designed to connect with today’s young, global audiences.”
Mukta Arts Ltd. filmmaker and founder Subhash Ghai added, “Mukta Arts has always believed in creating stories with lasting emotional value. Through animation, we are extending our IP into a new medium for the next generation.”
In an industry where timeless tales never go out of fashion, this collaboration promises to bring beloved characters back to life with a modern, animated glow proving that some stories are too good to stay in live-action. Stay tuned for the first animated frame to drop.
