But then there came a time, we got engrossed in the likes of Archies,Superman and Spiderman.The facts that made them popular were-
1. They belonged to the western culture.
2. They were lot more humane then our mythological super Heroes.
3. There were no moral values attached to them,our grand parents were not forcing us to read them.
4. They lived in Contemporary world,they used the same gadgets and lived in the same settings we live in.
Thus,there started a time in the lives of middle class Indians,where the western super Heroes found a way to our homes,if not through Comics but through television.
It seemed that ten years down the line,the likes of Spiderman will become the bed time stories.Our very own Amar Chitra Katha,Twinkle failed to fill these void.
Then suddenly,a Company decided to make the most of it when it brought out the animated version of Hanuman in 2005.This was the time ,Bollywood and Indian Animation studios were making big money.They decided to experiment and came Animated movies and television serials of Indian mythological Heroes Hanuman and Ganesha.Taking a step further,the story tellers brought them in our present lives.Children could associate with a Hanuman who goes to school and secretly save the world too.This was also the time,there was a big influx of Chinese cartoons,some of them were wicked and most of them were not "Good Looking"
For parents like me,it seemed there was no respite from this cross cultural attack.But market dynamics were at its best.As a pleasant surprise came serials like "Chota Bheem".He belongs to our contemporary lives,he conveys high moral values and is shown in English.As I parent,I could not have asked for better.So even though my son sees the all time favorite Tom & Jerry,he also watches Chota Bheem and believe me, it is an interesting watch.I even saw CD of Chota Bheem sold in the market.The Indian Super Heroes(at least for the children) have finally arrived.
