Before today’s generation was introduced to the magnificence and cinematic marvels of the comic book superheroes coming to life on the big screen, Indian television had its own clan of superheroes. Those who swear by the names of Batmans, Spider-mans, and the lots were once humble and loyal fans of Shaktiman, Karma, Junior G. Ah! I think I’ve just touched a nostalgic nerve.
Yes, those were amazing days. Sundays were heaven when after a never-ending week, a long wait culminated in superhero stories from Karma to Captain Vyom. We gasped at their strength and prudence to avert the villain we hated to death. Those were the days when our only peek into the marvel of the DC universe was through Fox Kids on Star Plus.
Superheroes from the Indian Telly
Here is a little revisit to the golden age of our very own crop of superheroes…
1. Junior-G
Our childhood fantasy of being a superhero was modeled on this wonder kid. A magical ring transforms a normal kid into a superhero who fights evil minds. Every ring around the house was our way into his magical world. Sadly, no good came out of it.
Jim jam Jamie boo anyone ??
Watch it here …
2. Captain Vyom
We all loved this show. It introduced us to Milind Soman who previously had Alisha Chinai’s music video on his resume. He plays the lead in this series, trying to capture the 12 escaped convicts of the universe. This was one of the many interesting shows to air on DD on a Sunday morning.
3. Shaktiman
No one born in the 90s can claim to be unaware of this superhero and his alter ego. Don’t tell me your parents didn’t use this show to force you to complete a random errand. Shaktiman was as majestic as any supernatural hero could be.
A highly principled person turns into a superhero to fight off darkness – epicness, I tell you. We all hated Kilvish and Dr. Jackal, we did fall for Geeta Vishwas and we all grieved when Tom Alter’s character (maha guru) gets murdered.
Now if we look back at the show, it seems like a rip off of western movies (a certain storyline was literally Predators in Hindi), and the starting sequence definitely so. But to our naive mind, it was all real and no one could dare tell us otherwise.
You can watch the entire series here if you feel like
4. Shaka Laka Boom Boom
Another interesting concept and another great show of our childhood days. Not so much as a superhero as a SuperPencil, still it was loved by all. Our very own Sanju was the beloved lead character who happened to own a magical pencil that turned every drawing into real. Absurd now, but it was great viewing.
The second half of the show was an audacious ripoff of the Harry Potter series, but probably none of us small towners had read the books or seen the movies then.
PS: Hansika Motwani grew up real quick.
Some other notable shows – Karma (mayavi nagri), Aryamaan, Hatim.
