Bollywood Superhero KRRISH Headed For The Small Screen In New Animated Films Due This Summer

Cartoon Network India announced overnight that it is partnering with Rakesh Roshan to create a new series of animated features starring one of Bollywood's most recognizable homegrown superheros, Krrish. The character originates from a pair of films from the early 2000's, played by Hrithik Roshan in films directed by his father Rakesh. Krrish is often regarded as the first modern superhero film from Bollywood designed to compete at the multiplex with western films.

The deal should see Cartoon Network airing four features starring Krrish starting in July. That sounds like a quick turnaround to me, but presumably they've been working hot and heavy on these for a while. These films are being aired to coincide with the Diwali release of Krrish 3 (a confusing title, since technically there was no Krrish 2), and to introduce the character to Indian children, many of whom may not be familiar with the character.

The origin stories of Krrish and his father in the films, also played by Hrithik Roshan in a tangentially related prequel called Koi Mil Gaya, have been hinted at in the films, but could definitely use some fleshing out since this character was a big screen invention and has no comic book background from which to draw. I'm particularly interested to see how they fit the aliens into the story. If anything, the animated format allows for a lot of creativity and I am genuinely interested to see what pops up.