How POGO is reimagining Chhota Bheem and Little Singham for a new generation

MUMBAI: For nearly two decades, Chhota Bheem has remained a fixture of Indian children’s entertainment, while Little Singham has built its own following as a homegrown animated superhero. Now, POGO is bringing the two characters together in Rise of Anshaks: Heroes of Destiny, an anime-inspired, multi-part adventure that places familiar heroes in a new universe of elemental powers, mythology and larger-than-life conflicts. The series, produced in collaboration with Green Gold Animation and Reliance Animation, marks an ambitious step towards expanding established Indian animation properties into a shared universe with new characters and deeper story arcs. 

For Sai Abishek, head of factual entertainment, lifestyle and kids, South Asia, at Skydance, the project is about more than bringing two popular characters together. It reflects a broader approach to franchise-building, one that seeks to preserve the emotional connection audiences have with familiar heroes while introducing new storytelling formats and visual styles to a generation increasingly drawn to anime. In this conversation with Indian Television, Abishek discusses the creative thinking behind Rise of Anshaks: Heroes of Destiny, the evolution of Indian children’s animation, the investment involved in building a shared universe and the opportunities for homegrown intellectual property to reach audiences across languages and markets.

1. What inspired you to bring Chhota Bheem and Little Singham together in one story, and why now?

At POGO, Rise of Anshaks: Heroes of Destiny is our biggest bet yet, and it began with a simple question – what happens when two of India’s most recognisable homegrown heroes, each with a strong identity of their own, share an entirely new world?

Chhota Bheem and Little Singham have been part of the childhood of generations of Indian kids, and they have crossed paths on POGO before, to a strong response. This time, we wanted to go further and build a new anime-inspired universe around them, with new heroes, villains, powers, and deeper lore. For the first time, fans will see their favourite heroes in an anime avatar, and the timing felt just right. Anime’s popularity among kids in India keeps growing, and today’s kids are ready for bigger worlds, epic arcs and visually stunning, action-packed storytelling. It also reflects our shared-universe approach – powering up loyal fans while giving a new generation of anime lovers a reason to discover these characters.

2. How did you make sure each character stays true to who they are while sharing a universe?

These characters carry enormous cultural equity and audience trust, so the universe could expand, but the characters couldn’t change at heart. Chhota Bheem is calm, grounded and immovable, like paani, while Little Singham is fast, fearless and relentless, like aag. That contrast is what makes the pairing work, so we protected it.

The new world gives them a bigger context and higher stakes, and it lets us show how they complement each other and grow when the challenge is greater than anything they’ve faced alone. At the same time, putting them together creates opportunities for new dynamics with the new characters we are introducing. In the end, the approach was to expand the world without losing the heart of the characters.

3. How is storytelling for Indian kids’ animation evolving, and where does this show fit in?

Indian kids’ animation has matured. There is a real appetite for bigger scale and richer mythology that stays accessible for children, and we are moving beyond standalone episodes to larger worlds, continuing arcs and stories that reward kids for staying with the journey. Rise of Anshaks: Heroes of Destiny sits squarely in that space. It is a new universe with its own mythology and a new generation of characters, anchored by two iconic heroes with deep emotional equity among its audiences and beyond. It’s a series built into an hour-long, movie-saga format, giving us room for longer arcs, newer directions and scale to explore new characters and their stories. It also builds on the special viewing events we’re investing in, from telefeatures to crossover specials and Big Pictures, and it is the most ambitious format we’ve attempted.

4. What led you to choose an anime-inspired visual style for this series?

Anime combines scale, emotion, action and mythology like few other styles, and that suited a universe larger and more fantastical than the worlds these characters have inhabited. It also isn’t new to our audience. Indian kids have grown up with anime, and shows such as Dragon Ball and One Piece have been part of our portfolio on Cartoon Network, with great response.

We wanted to bring that visual language to homegrown heroes and their storytelling. However, at the centre are Indian characters, Indian storytelling sensibilities and a mythology designed for our audience. Our aim with the new series was to bring together fans of Little Singham and Chhota Bheem while inviting anime fans into the fold.

5. Some may worry that anime influences don’t suit younger POGO viewers. How did you approach that?

The distinction is between adopting a visual language and copying a genre. The action and visuals are heightened, but the characters’ motivations, humour and relationships stay clear and easy to connect with. As a conscious kids’ brand, we also create content and design our narratives for co-viewing, so families can watch it together. Children respond to characters, emotion, adventure and humour, not genre labels, and our job was to use what anime offers while keeping the show accessible to POGO’s audience.

6. How does building a shared universe compare to a single-IP show in terms of production investment?

Building a shared universe is a significantly larger commitment than a single-IP show because it means developing an entire ecosystem with new characters, new environments and mythology, and a visual language that must stay consistent across stories.

Rise of Anshaks: Heroes of Destiny brings together some of the best minds and artists in Indian animation, with Reliance Animation and Green Gold Animation collaborating alongside POGO at the largest scale either studio has attempted. For fans, it offers a never-before experience, fronted by two of the most iconic characters in Indian animation, and we see it as a landmark moment for the kids’ genre. Importantly, this is not just a production exercise. It is a long-term collaboration to build a universe with Indian teams, for Indian audiences, with the potential to travel beyond television and beyond borders while strengthening our commitment to the animation sector by continuously investing in and developing new IPs.

7. When it comes to world-building, what’s one detail that kids actually pick up on and love?

Kids today are incredibly observant when you give them a world with rules. We believe the one detail that kids will love is the elemental mythology of the series. In the new IP, Chhota Bheem and Little Singham will discover that they are heirs to the lost Jal and Agni Anshaks, and with Bhuvan and Aandhi, the Earth and Air Anshaks, joining them, the four elements will give kids a system they can start to decode. With this new universe, we are inviting them to join the quest to discover new characters, powers, and clues alongside the heroes. And children love making those connections themselves.

8. You’ve mentioned that character arcs are richer this time. How do you keep young viewers engaged and able to follow along?

At POGO and Cartoon Network, we have always believed the key is to keep the emotional journey simple, even when the story is complex. We can introduce a larger world, new characters and bigger stakes; however, the audience should always understand what a character wants, what they’re struggling with and what they must overcome. That’s the anchor.

We also reveal the mythology progressively rather than explaining everything upfront. Children should feel that they are discovering the world alongside the characters. And, because it is a multi-part series with hour-long episodes, every episode or chapter will give them something satisfying in the moment while also making them curious about what comes next.

9. Was there a crossover idea you explored earlier that didn’t work? What did you learn from it?

With a crossover of this scale, one of the biggest lessons is that bringing two popular characters together isn’t, by itself, a story. What became important for us was building a mythology and lore that genuinely requires these characters to come together.

That shifted our thinking from, “How do we get Chhota Bheem and Little Singham on screen together?” to, “What is the story that could only be told because Chhota Bheem and Little Singham are together?” That distinction led us to build a mythology and bring in anime-style character design and scale that genuinely needs both of them.

10. At what point did you feel confident this concept could really work?

We set out to build a universe never seen before, and we felt confident when the mythology, the new characters, and the larger conflict came together in a seamlessly authentic manner. Chhota Bheem and Little Singham were no longer guest appearances in each other’s worlds. They had a reason to exist in this one, to help introduce new characters to audiences, and they also had a new journey to take. Add to that the fact that fans will see their favourite characters in anime avatars, with powered-up transformations and anime-styled expressive character design for the very first time, and it became clear we weren’t just creating a special event but potentially establishing a new franchise. The creative teams’ and partners’ exciting response as the world developed reinforced that belief.

11. After so many years with these IPs, how do you keep the stories feeling fresh?

We have a legacy of IPs that have attracted audiences across generations and decades. Our aim has always been to respect what made the characters successful without being limited by it. Freshness doesn’t have to mean changing the character. It can mean changing the context. Chhota Bheem is 18 years into its journey, and Little Singham’s tale on POGO has also completed nine years. This year we gave fans the Origin of Bheem Big Picture specials and began resetting the universe with deeper storytelling. Rise of Anshaks: Heroes of Destiny is the next step in our endeavour to build new universes for familiar characters, set against new mythology, new stakes, and a very different visual language.

12. What’s the one feeling you hope children take away after watching Rise of Anshaks?

I hope kids and families feel inspired by the possibility that there is always a bigger world to discover, and that our differences can become our greatest strength when we stand together. Above all, we want them to have fun.

For Indian animation, the show is a first. It brings together the team at POGO, Green Gold Animation and Reliance Animation at this scale, and it reflects the creative firepower of our animation talent. Localisation is a key growth driver for us, so Rise of Anshaks: Heroes of Destiny will be available in Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Marathi, and every child can experience it in their own language. Anime is hugely popular with kids in India, and its following in India keeps growing. We are excited for them to see two of their most iconic heroes in anime avatars, exploring a whole new world. With this IP, our ambition is not just to grow our own portfolio but to raise the tide for the entire category.