Last month, a member of the Shiv Sena had filed a complaint against Netflix for ‘allegedly’ creating shows that propagate an anti-Hindu sentiment. The letter mentions shows like Leila, Sacred Games, Ghoul and Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act.
Now Netflix has green lit an animated series for kids about Hindu Gods - Ganesha, Kali, Krishna and Saraswati learning at deity day-care centre.
The 20 episode series has been titled Ghee Happy and is being created by Academy Award-nominated director-animator-illustrator Sanjay Patel, who is best known for his work on Pixar films such as Monsters Inc. , Ratatouille, Cars, Toy Story 2 and The Incredibles.
On how the idea for the show germinated, Patel told Economic Times, “Being a second generation Indian in US, I wasn’t exposed to Indian or Asian arts. I had seen the images of Gods in pooja area, but never knew stories behind them. I was fascinated and started making my own art book.”
According to him, the show’s attempt is to introduce mythology to people like his kids who living in the US wouldn’t have much of an idea about Indian culture. He added that as a second generation Indian in the US, he hadn’t been exposed to Indian arts, and had only seen idols and pictures but not known the stories behind those Gods.
“This series is not based on my mom’s and dad’s version of Ramayan/ Mahabharata or Kali. This is my version. What is happening with pre-schoolers is their mind is getting wired at very early age and shows like Sesame Street don’t offer a view into our culture. That’s why I took a month off and decided to create a story,” he added.
Each episode will 11 minutes long, and will see the progression of these Gods from the deity day care centre, to inspiring deities. Dominique Bazay, director of Kids & Family at Netflix commenting on the same said that Sanjay’s art was ‘magical’ and that kids would now have an easy access to these stories.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)