Mumbai: In a constant endeavour to propel the kids’ category with indigenous stories that are a product of insights, creative storytelling, great animation and endearing Nicktoons such as Chikoo aur Bunty, Happy & Pinaki – The Bhoot Bandhus, Motu Patlu, Shiva, and Rudra, Nickelodeon enjoys a cumulative network share of 31% within the genre with Nick leading the category for 9 consecutive years. Further strengthening its content game and enticing kids this summer, the kids’ franchise gears up to announce the launch of two new IPs, ‘Abhimanyu Ki Alien Family’ on Nick and ‘Kanha – Morpankh Samrat’ on Sonic.
‘Abhimanyu Ki Alien Family’, the only alien show in the kids' category, is a sci-fi comedy series based around the alien Abhimanyu and his team of three, who embark on a mission to learn about the unique cultures and ways of life on Earth. In the series, the alien team faces troubles as they try to blend in with humans in their human form, make friends, hide their identity, and overcome adverse situations and threats. ‘Kanha – Morpankh Samrat’ on the other hand is a captivating mythological series that chronicles the adventures of young Krishna and his famous tales, showcasing his journey as a son, warrior, hero, friend, and brings alive his playful and mischievous antics.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with Anu Sikka, Head - Creative, Content & Research, Kids TV Network, Viacom18 at the launch of the shows. She speaks to us about the creative idea behind the shows, researches on what children want to watch and much more.
Edited excerpts:
On Abhimanyu Ki Alien Family on Nick and Kanha – Morpankh Samrat’ on Sonic. Why on two different platforms?
We did not want to put all our ammunition on one channel. Nick has been number one for nine years and we want to make sure that Sonic is back to number two. We have two strong shows and the biggest market share; hence the division of two shows on two different platforms. The effort invariably is to offer new shows on both platforms.
Abhimanyu is a character with various powers and there is nothing like that on Nick; moreover, we do not have any mythological show on either of the platforms. Kanha - Morpankh Samrat goes on on Sonic as there hasn’t been a new show on the platform for some time.
On doing a mythological Kanha – Morpankh Samrat’ now
There was a saturation point around mythological content around 2008 - 2009. It is a whitespace and we have created it very differently. There have been characters like Hanuman and Ganesha, but it was contemporary and showcases the character in today’s time. These are pure age-old stories of Krishna, and have been told as is. We have found our own way of storytelling. The soul of the character is intact, and is in pure Hindi. It is not spoken Hindi, which is normally used in most of the other shows. When it comes to music, the name Kanha/Krishna will come to our minds. It is presented in a way that is different from any other show.
On the language of the show being pure Hindi, especially for Kanha
Abhimanyu is contemporary Hindi and at times Hinglish. There are certain times when we use English words which kids normally use when they're speaking to each other. But for a show like Kanha, given that the subject demands it, we haven’t used contemporary language, English or even Urdu. We have been very mindful of this fact.
We believe that if we have to create a character, then we have to go all the way to make sure it comes across as authentic; whether it succeeds or fails, time will tell. The audience will love the language in Kanha. It is a risk we are willing to take.
On the improvement of animation and if they are looking at shows beyond animation
Well, for us, the proof is in the pudding. Being the number one channel and network is proof of whatever we have produced over the years. animation is not going to go out of fashion is another fact. Kanha is a show that we will launch simultaneously on GECs too. Animation as a genre is going beyond kids as well. There is a generation which has now grown up with animation. Today as an adult, they are not averse to watching animation, especially with their kids.
I see a very bright future and truly believe that animation as a genre will go beyond children, it probably will go even for the youth. Somebody has to pick up the bait and say, I'll run with it, and say why not create an animated series for the youth. Anime is coming to the forefront and it is available in the market. We have a lot of anime content on Voot Kids, which we know is doing very well among teenagers.
Abhimanyu is being done for the first time in India, it's new and has a very different look. We have not just pushed the envelope just in terms of storytelling, or the creation of characters, but even in terms of the animation quality. I think we are trying to push the boundary and trying to say that, we have done this, let's try something new. Of course, it needs to have good economics behind it. As far as the quality of animation is concerned, you can go on endlessly. We will continue to push the envelope.
On the thought behind the shows and is there feedback from the kids on what they want to watch?
Well, we keep interacting with children on a regular basis and conduct various types of research, whether it's regarding the shows that we launch, or ongoing shows. There are various format studies, which tell which are the characters which are very popular amongst children.
Kids need to be kept given something new and not old, tried and tested things. If they are going to watch the same content repeatedly on their favourite channel, they will move on beyond a point. We have to be very careful even when presenting a character which has a resemblance to another character. They are the first ones to catch on. So, we have to be very mindful.
On the characters being very relatable to the young kids.
The characters have to be relatable or aspirational for a child. A child is very clear when he looks at a particular character, either as a friend he wished he had or a character who could do magical things or who could solve all problems. The show Chico aur Bunty is a classic example; it has been the only show to be the number one in the kid’s category in the first week of launch and it stayed right there. It is because of the relatability every child was able to identify. We've tried to stay in that zone, the kids need to have that bonding with the character.
On the shows being on different time formats. You have also done various genres in various time limits. Is there a formula for this?
There is a logic which goes behind everything. So, for instance, with ‘Pakkadam Pakkadai’ we have experimented with silent comedy. As a matter of fact, internationally, it's sold as a silent comedy. When it comes to silent comedies it is very difficult to pull off 11 minutes, it's not possible to keep the pace of comedy going, and make sure that the audience does not lose interest. Hence, if there is a comedy like that, it could be anywhere from five to seven minutes.
When there is a good enough story to tell with a little bit of action, and humour then 11 minutes is a good format. For shows with intense drama and action then you will have to take it to 20 minutes to justify those action sequences. If you really believe that the scale of your story and the scale of the show is such that the focus is a lot on the action, then you need that kind of time where you're able to justify the action and it leaves an impact on the child. There is a formula as to why we use different formats in terms of time duration for different kinds of shows.
On bringing an Alien as a centrepiece in Abhimanyu Ki Alien Family
We believed that aliens as characters resonates very well with the kids and with the adults also because it's a mystery. We have heard stories about it since our childhood, and have read so many different stories, but it's the unknown factor. Anything that is unknown always fascinates children and adults. There was also a need gap as no one had done something like this. We know for a fact that this alien character will appeal to children a lot, and hence, Abhimanyu and his family came along. It took us more than a year to create the show.
