Cameras roll on Indian Sesame Street

Galli Galli Sim Sim (below), the localised version of US children’s favourite Sesame Street, has begun production on location at Filmcity in Noida, India. The series will debut this year on kids channels Cartoon Network and POGO.

Produced by Sesame Workshop, Turner and Delhi-based Miditech, the four colourful Muppet characters Chamki, Aanchoo, Googly and Boombah, who were unveiled in December, will be joined by Galli Galli Sim Sim residents including Jugaadu, who likes to find innovative solutions to fix problems; Basha Bhaijaan, who owns a corner store and knows several Indian languages; his wife, Dawa Di, who is from North East India and teaches dance; and Kabir, Basha Bhaijaan and Dawa Di’s son, who is an active and curious eight-year-old.

Other key characters include Colonel Albert Pinto and his wife Rukmini (Doctor Aunty). Colonel Pinto, a retired army person, is an advocate for healthy living and civic sense. Rukmini, a doctor by profession, is a combination of contemporary and traditional wisdom.

Based on extensive research with local educators, child development experts, artists and producers, each of the characters have Indian nuances both in their physical appearances and their personalities. In addition to encouraging young children to learn basic cognitive and numeracy skills, the neighbourhood friends are intended to represent the vibrancy of India’s multi-culturalism.

Miditech’s president, Niret Alva, serves as executive producer on the series, Pria Somiah is supervising producer, Julius Packiam music director, Samir Chanda art director, Sehba Iman head writer and Prakash Moorthy head animator.

“We are making a bold run at engaging the tens of millions of young children in India around important educational messages to begin them on a lifelong love of learning,” said Gary Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop.

Alva said: “One of our goals is to demonstrate India’s rich cultural heritage and diversity on Galli Galli Sim Sim through the colourful characters, engaging storylines, wonderful music, and new live action and animation films. Galli Galli Sim Sim, with all its humour and interactivity, encourages children to explore the world outside their window.”