Little Krishna

Last updated

Little Krishna
Little Krishna Poster.jpg
Genre Epic, History
Created by Reliance BIG Animation Studio
Screenplay by Jeffrey Scott
Country of originIndia
Original languages
  • Hindi
  • Tamil
  • Telugu
  • English
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time22 minutes
Original release
Network Nickelodeon, Discovery Kids, Sun TV
Release11 May 2009 (2009-05-11)

Little Krishna is an Indian CGI-animated epic television series created by Reliance Entertainment in 2009. It was originally aired on Nickelodeon [1] [2] and later aired on Discovery Kids and Sun TV. [3]

Contents

The series is based on the legend of Hindu deity Krishna. It has 13 standalone episodes involving Krishna between the ages of five and nine.

Production

Ashish SK CEO of BIG Animation mentioned the series, which has over 300 characters and as many locations, has taken over seven years in the making, and involved an investment of 50 crore rupees. [1]

The series was conceptualised and produced by Reliance BIG Entertainment with a budget of 50 crore (equivalent to 126 croreorUS$15 million in 2023) and co-produced by The Indian Heritage Foundation which is powered by ISKCON. The series is scripted by Jeffery Scott. [2]

Big Animation made Little Krishna in two formats — 13 standalone episodes of approximately 22 minutes each and three feature films of 66 minutes each. The 13-part series was broadcast on Nick in India. [1] [2] [4]

Episodes

No.TitlePlot
1The Attack of the Serpent KingLittle Krishna spent His childhood years in the beautiful land of Vrindavan, filling the hearts of the inhabitants with pure love for Him. The villagers led a blissful and contented life. Krishna and His cowherd friends usually spent their days playing in the lush green pastures of Vrindavan and the cool waters of river Yamuna.

One day, terror struck Vrindavan disturbing the peace of the village. An enormous serpent, Kaliya, rose out of the Yamuna where Krishna and His friends were playing. The envious serpent had many hoods and spewed venom furiously. The river, cows and calves were poisoned. The boys fell unconscious due to the poisonous fumes emanating from the river. Krishna immediately jumped into the river to save them. The monstrous serpent attacked Little Krishna, coiled around Him, and dived deep into the water as the villagers watched helplessly.

2The Terrible StormThe inhabitants of Vrindavan were preparing to perform a festival to please Lord Indra to bless them with good rainfall. However, Krishna convinces His father Nanda Maharaj and other villagers that the offering is due to Govardhan Hill as it is the only source of their sustenance. The festival is then held to honour Govardhan Hill. All the villagers joyfully gather their offerings and proceed to perform the yajna. When King Indra learns about this, he becomes furious and orders his warriors to inundate Vrindavan with devastating rain. The village is tormented with torrential rainfall for seven days and nights.
3The Horror CaveKamsa is restlessly thinking about Krishna, his angel of death. He calls upon one of his demon friends - Aghasura, a huge, terrifying python. Aghasura takes the orders of Kamsa and goes to Vrindavan to kill Krishna. He lays down with his mouth wide open. His body spread over many miles and his mouth resembled an enormous cave. Little Krishna’s friends who were happily playing nearby are attracted to this new cave. They enter the cave and soon realise that they are trapped. The boys frantically call out to Krishna for help.
4The Enchanted PicnicOnce, Lord Brahma becomes proud, considering himself to be the foremost servitor of Lord Vishnu. His power and position bewilder him. He refuses to accept that Little Krishna living among the simple villagers of Vrindavan is none other than Lord Vishnu Himself. He decides to play a trick to find out who is the little blue boy. He steals Krishna’s friends and cows and puts them in dreamland. Brahma visits Vrindavan a year later to check what Krishna is doing without His friends and cows. The sight leaves Brahma speechless.
5Fire and FuryAfter the death of Aghasura, Kamsa has now sent the mighty Pralambasura to get rid of Krishna. Little Krishna is playing a game with His friends when the demon reaches Vrindavan. Balaram declares the rule of the game – losers will have to carry winners on their shoulders all the way to the riverside and back.

Pralambasura disguises himself as a little boy and joins the team while Krishna exits the game to play some mischief on the gopis. As Pralambasura’s team loses, each of them carries a boy from the winning team on their shoulders. Krishna’s friends go towards the river, but the demon carries Balaram away to a forest nearby. While the boys are enjoying the game, they hear their cows mooing in fear. They also walk into the forest in search of the cows and are shocked to see a raging forest fire encircle them. They helplessly cry out to Krishna to save them.

6Demon in DisguiseThis episode transitions between two stories that depict Krishna’s love for the inhabitants of Vrindavan.

Kamsa is furious about the death of Pralambasura. He summons another gigantic demon, Vatsasura, to kill Krishna. Vatsasura sets out in search of Krishna and finds Him melodiously playing His flute under a tree. He also sees Krishna’s friends racing with their calves. Hence, Vatsasura disguises himself as a calf and tries to attack Krishna. The other story is about Bahula, a dear cow of Krishna. Bahula and her friends are peacefully grazing when a tiger suddenly attacks them. She loses her way and walks into the cave of the tiger while trying to escape with her friends. As the ferocious tiger is ready to pounce on Bahula, she pleads him to let her go. Bahula promises the tiger that she would return the following day after feeding her newborn calf. The tiger agrees on the condition that he would make a meal of Bahula along with her calf, if she fails to return the next morning.

7Deadly DonkeyTalavana is a guarded forest where the servants of Kamsa prepare and dispatch a special drink made from the ‘taal’ fruit for their King’s pleasure. Even the denizens of heaven crave to taste this delightful nectar. However, Talavana is watched over by a deadly donkey, Dhenukasura, who mercilessly punishes and kills trespassers. One day, while Krishna and His friends are playing, their cows wander into Talavana, attracted by the sweet aroma of the fruits. The boys are forced to enter Talavana to get their cows back. They find their cows relishing the tasty fruits that are fallen on the ground. Krishna and His friends decide to collect fruits for all the residents of Vrindavan before leaving the place. As they pick up the fruits, they come face to face with Dhenukasura, who is seething with anger.
8Challenge of the BruteKamsa is enraged when he hears that Dhenukasura was killed by Little Krishna. At the suggestion of one of his servants, he sends another mighty demon Aristasura, a fearsome bull, to challenge Krishna. The raging bull dashes across the village, destroying homes and threatening the innocent residents of Vrindavan. When Krishna learns about the disturbance that Aristasura is causing, He immediately appears before the demon, ready to take him on.
9Assault of the Lethal BirdThe lethal bird, Bakasura, is in search of his meal. He swoops down on a few cowherd men and their cows, planning to devour them. However, the bird is interrupted by King Kamsa who arrives there to meet him. Kamsa promises his friend Baka royal feasts for a lifetime if he succeeds in killing Little Krishna. Bakasura vows to accomplish the task by sunset and sets out in search of Kamsa’s angel of death. He spots Krishna with His friends in Vrindavan, building a bridge across the river with the help of monkeys. The wicked bird immediately picks up Little Krishna with his long beak and swallows Him, much to the shock and disbelief of Krishna’s friends.

The devatas Indra, Brahma, Agni and Shiva, are enraged by Bakasura’s actions. They attack him with their weapons and try to save Krishna but in vain.

10The Charge of the Monster HorseKamsa is growing impatient after all his demon friends were killed by Little Krishna. As his hopes of getting rid of his angel of death are fading, a monster horse, Keshi, appears before him. He assures Kamsa that he will crush Krishna to death beneath his hooves.

Keshi learns that Krishna wears a yellow garment, holds a flute and wears a peacock feather on His head. Meanwhile, Madhumangal disguises himself as Krishna so that he can get some butter from the little gopis. As the horse demon is looking for the boy that matches this appearance, he stumbles upon Madhumangal, who is walking happily after enjoying the pot of butter. Keshi snorts furiously seeing Madhumangal, and gets ready to attack him assuming him to be Little Krishna.

11The Mystery of the Vanishing SheepKrishna and His friends are playing the game ‘Robber and Police’ in the pastures of Vrindavan. Each of them plays a different role. Subala plays the thief, Sridham - the shepherd and Krishna and Balaram – the police. Other cowherd boys play the role of sheep. Subala hides behind the bushes, eagerly waiting for a chance to steal the ‘sheep’. But as he tries to trap them, he finds that the ‘sheep’ are being led by a mysterious boy who has suddenly appeared on the scene.
12The Vicious WhirlwindThe episode revolves around two pastimes of Little Krishna.

Mother Yashoda binds mischievous Krishna to a grinding mortar with a rope as punishment. However, this does not stop Krishna from continuing His mischief. He crawls around in the garden, dragging the mortar along, till he reaches the Arjuna trees that stand tall in the courtyard of Nanda Maharaj. The mortar gets stuck between the twin trees. Little Krishna continues to drag the mortar, pulling it harder, causing the giganitic trees to uproot. As the trees come crashing down with a loud thud, something strange takes place.

Kamsa is sitting in his palace, occupied in the thoughts of killing Krishna. On the other hand, baby Krishna is busy playing mischief in Vrindavan. Trnavarta, a demon in the form of a whirlwind, appears before Kamsa. The mighty demon assures the king that he would easily shatter Krishna into pieces. Then, Trnavarta goes to Vrindavan, swiftly picks up Little Krishna and flies high up in the sky.

13The Witch TrapThe episode shows different playful activities of Little Krishna and Balaram.

One day, Balaram finds Krishna eating mud and complains to mother Yashoda. However, Krishna feigns innocence. She tells Krishna to open His mouth so that she can check herself. The moment Krishna opens His mouth, mother Yashoda sees something mystical and feels dizzy.

Nanda Maharaj helps her recover from the bewildering experience. Later, he tells Yashoda that Krishna is not an ordinary child. He reminded her of two earlier instances involving a fruit seller and Krishna sucking the life out of Putana, a rakshasi who disguises herself as a young, beautiful woman and tries to kill the god by breast-feeding poisoned milk when he displayed His extraordinary potency, even as a toddler. Both of them agree that their beloved Krishna is a special boy.

Release

Little Krishna was first aired on Nickelodeon for south Asian territory in May 2009. [5] The series received a nation-wide recognition.

Evergreen Entertainment is distributor for the series. [6] Their CEO Steve Walsh commented:

The series offers such a fresh look from anything that we have seen to date coming out of India. It has already done phenomenally well since its premiere on NICK India. It is very well written, the animation is great and is in 3-D which adds to its attractiveness. [6]

Video games

Zapak, an Indian mobile video game developer has released several adaptations of the television series including Little Krishna, Little Radha Run, Little Krishna Makhan Masti and Little Krishna MM Tab, and Little Krishna Jungle Run. [7]

Awards and recognition

The Little Krishna Animation Series has won numerous awards including five FICCI Frames Awards and three Golden Cursor Awards. [4] [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>SpongeBob SquarePants</i> season 6 Season of television series

The sixth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by former marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, aired on Nickelodeon from March 3, 2008, to July 5, 2010, and contained 26 half-hour episodes, being the first season with a different number of half-hours. The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. The season was executive produced by series creator Hillenburg and supervising producer Paul Tibbitt, who also acted as the showrunner. In 2009, the show celebrated its tenth anniversary on television. The documentary film titled Square Roots: The Story of SpongeBob SquarePants premiered on July 17, 2009, and marked the anniversary. SpongeBob's Truth or Square, a television film, and the special episode "To SquarePants or Not to SquarePants" were broadcast on Nickelodeon, as part of the celebration.

Rajiv Chilakalapudi, also known as Rajiv Chilaka and Sitarama Rajiv Chilakalapudi, is the founder and CEO of Hyderabad-based Green Gold Animations and the creator of a few cartoons including Krishna cartoon series and Chhota Bheem which has now been made into an animated series and films. For his work in presenting cartoons at affordable price, Chilaka was conferred with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by the Academy of Art University, San Francisco in 2016. He was the recipient of the 2013 School of Computing and Engineering Alumni Achievement Award at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickelodeon (Indian TV channel)</span> Indian counterpart of Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon is an Indian children's pay television channel based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is the Indian equivalent of the original American network and is owned by Viacom18, a joint venture between Paramount Global and TV18. Despite using the "Nickelodeon" branding, it does not air any content from the original channel in recent times as part of a localisation strategy; instead the original Nickelodeon content is only broadcast on the Nickelodeon HD+ channel. As of October 2020, Nickelodeon is the most watched children's channel in India.

<i>Swami Ayyappan</i> (2012 film) 2012 Indian film

Swami Ayyappan is a 2012 animated Indian film about the legend of Swami Ayyappan. It is the first animated portrayal of Ayyappan. The 90-minute film, produced through a collaboration of Toonz Animation India and Animagic Motion Pictures Production, was planned to be released in theatres in the Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages. Mahesh Vettiyar wrote the story, and co-directed the film with Chetan Sharma. P. Jayakumar served as executive producer.

<i>Pakdam Pakdai</i> Indian kids comedy animated series

Pakdam Pakdai (transl. Chasing), also known as Rat-A-Tat is an Indian Flash-animated comedy television series, formerly on Nickelodeon later on Sonic Nickelodeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. Rajiv Choudhry</span> Indian actor

J. Rajiv Choudhry is an Indian actor, director, corporate trainer and race car driver.

Shaktimaan is an Indian superhero media franchise consisting of TV series, comic books and films. The original work is Shaktimaan, which was produced by Mukesh Khanna under his banner Bheeshm International and directed by Dinkar Jani and Vikram Veturi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Gold Animations</span> Indian animation company

Green Gold Animation Pvt Ltd, is a Hyderabad-based Indian animation company, with offices in India, Singapore, the Philippines and the United States. It is known for creating the Chhota Bheem television series and the Krishna film series. Green Gold Animation was founded by Rajiv Chilaka in January 2001.

<i>Shaktimaan: The Animated Series</i> 2011 Indian animated television show directed by Vikram Veturi

Shaktimaan: The Animated Series is a 2011 Indian animated television show based on the live-action series of the same name. Produced by Reliance Animation in association with Accel Animation Studios, the series centers around Vehaan Arya, a young college student who uses his yogic superpowers to become Shaktimaan and defeat the evil forces of Kilvish, who wants to destroy the world.

<i>Gaju Bhai</i> 2016 Indian TV series or programme

Gaju Bhai is an Indian animated television series produced by Toonz Animations that aired on Disney Channel India. The series premiered on 18 April 2016.

<i>Lamput</i> 2017 Cartoon Network India series

Lamput is an Indian animated television series of shorts created by Vaibhav Kumaresh and produced by Vaibhav Studios for Cartoon Network India and Asia. The series consists of shorts of between 18 seconds in length to 3 to 5 minutes in length, as well as some 7-minute specials. The title character is a gooey, orange creature named Lamput that has escaped from a laboratory.

<i>Chhoti Anandi</i> 2016 Indian TV series or programme

Chhoti Anandi is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language animated television series produced by Sphere Origins, and animated by HopMotion. The show was simulcasted on Colors and Rishtey. This series premiered on 17 January 2016 and 10 April 2016.

<i>Andy Pirki</i> Animated television series

Andy Pirki is an Indian slapstick comedy animated television series produced by AUM Animation Studios. It premiered on 3 December 2017 on Pogo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vikash Jaiswal</span> Indian entrepreneur

Vikash Jaiswal is an Indian entrepreneur. is the founder of Gametion Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and creator of Ludo King, a popular gaming app developed by Gametion for Android and iOS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FICCI Frames</span>

FICCI Frames is an international convention of the Indian film industry, formerly chaired by Yash Chopra and co-chaired by Karan Johar. The convention is organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Kuku Mey Mey is an Indian animated slapstick comedy television series produced by HopMotion Animation. It premiered on Toon Goggles and Amazon Prime Video simultaneously under the title Kuku and the Goat.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Animation series 'Little Krishna' debut on May 11". @businessline. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Krishna: India's First 3-D Animated TV Series". ISKCON News. 16 May 2009. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  3. "Little Krishna - Animated TV Series by BIG Animation". Reliance Animation. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  4. 1 2 Sapre, Omkar (20 December 2009). "Little Krishna Creates Waves Abroad". The Economic Times.
  5. "Little Krishna goes big! - Times of India". The Times of India. 20 May 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  6. 1 2 Frater, Patrick (14 December 2009). "Evergreen picks up 'Little Krishna'". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  7. "Zapak". Google Play . Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  8. Sapre, Omkar (21 December 2009). "Little Krishna charms the world in animated avatar". The Economic Times.
  9. "Awards & Achievements". Reliance Animation.