Not so long ago, I expressed my outrage at Kermit and Piggy getting pimped by Pizza Hut and Ford. In what I'm treating as an equal and opposite reaction, India is launching its own version of Sesame Street.
Mr Hooper's bakery has been supplanted by a corner store run by the multi-lingual Basha Bhaijaan. Basha's wife, Dawa Di, hails from north-east India and teaches dance. Although Elmo and Big Bird will have guest spots, the main muppets include a surreal hedonistic lion called Bhoombah, a character named after either a cricketing term or subtle product placement (Googly) and a storyteller called Aanchoo, who is transported to another place when she sneezes. The UK Independent has the story.
For more Indian spin on an English-originated story, check out the Bollywood version of Fight Club!
