Rajiv Chilaka may not be a name that rings a bell, but Chhota Bheem will sure do. Creator of the beloved children’s cartoon character, the Hyderabadi is the founder and marketing director of Green Gold Animation – the company that brought to life Chhota Bheem. Chilaka has directed and produced two animation movies so far – Chhota Bheem and the Curse of Damyaan, released in the year 2011 and Chhota Bheem and The Throne of Bali, which hit screens just this May 3.
Talking about the inspiration behind creating the character Chhota Bheem, Chilaka says, “Watching all the cartoons on Disney and Cartoon Network in my childhood and I always wanted to meet them. Much later, the lack of Indian cartoon characters made me create my very own, Chota Bheem”.
Talking about the delicate balance in maintaining the cartoon element and the mythological relevance of his character, the animator adds, “Our main aim was to satisfy the needs of children and their parents wherein parents would appreciate the show for its values and morals. But, it should entertain children. That is what we tried to achieve. If you follow the show, you come to understand that Bheem always stands for doing the right thing.”
Perhaps one of the first Indian cartoon animators, Chilaka made way in an almost non-existent industry. However, animation has come a long way since. Happy about how far they’ve come, he shares, “The first Bheem movie was accepted well by the audience, grossing about `50 million. The new movie is doing well in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru; we hope the movie does well in the future too. The second movie was done by 250 people from the animation industry, most of them located right here in Hyderabad and we would continue to make animated movies for the public. Our next plan is to make an animated movie in 3D.”