Motu Patlu is an Indian animated sitcom that premiered on Nickelodeon in India on 16 October 2012. This show is available in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and Bengali. The series is adapted from the classic comic strip Lotpot. It focuses on the misadventures of two friends, Motu and Patlu, landing in trouble and comical situations, later being rescued only by luck. It is one of the most popular kids' shows in India.
Premise
Setting
The series is set in the fictional town of Furfuri Nagar in India. It is a peaceful yet glamorous small town, simultaneously noble and squalid, adjoined by a river with a few shops, a large market area, a bus depot, a cluster of single-storeyed houses, temples, and a few recreational places. The town has three or more banks, three or more jewellery shops, Furfuri Nagar Police Station, Chingum's house, Boxer's house, Motu Patlu's house, Chaiwala's stall and house, Furfuri Nagar Central Jail, Furfuri Nagar Bus Stand, John's den, Dr. Jhatka's laboratory and house and Ghasitaram's house. There are a few villages and a few neighbouring cities around, such as Kamalpur, Sursuri Nagar and Modern City. Despite being a small town it has its own airport. It is not clearly mentioned where the town is exactly located, but most of the vehicles carry license plate numbers starting with "MH", which stands for the state of Maharashtra. The local police force wears uniforms of the Maharashtra Police.
However, in the later episodes, they had moved to Modern City for unknown reasons. A quick trailer showcasing new episodes mentions the differences in their new setting.
In later episodes, they went on a trip to various countries in Europe. Some European countries and cities they have visited include Pisa, Italy; Rome, Italy; Tuscany, Italy; London, England and Paris, France. They also visited Germany's Berlin, Switzerland's Top of Europe, Russia's St. Petersburg, England's Salisbury and Switzerland's Jungfraujoch.
In later episodes, they went on a trip to India. Firstly, it streamed digitally on Voot Kids on 12 April 2021. It started airing on Nickelodeon 10 May 2021. Some Indian cities of monuments they have visited include Taj Mahal (Agra), Gateway Of India (Mumbai), Victoria Memorial (Kolkata), Qutub Minar (New Delhi), Hawa Mahal (Jaipur), Tea Plantation (Assam), Backwater (Kerala), Charminar (Hyderabad), Bandra-Worli Sea Link (Mumbai), Rock Garden (Chandigarh), Elephanta Caves (Mumbai), Bekal Fort (Kerala), Red Fort (New Delhi) and Howrah Bridge (Kolkata) and many more.
They return to Furfuri Nagar in later episodes.
Plot
Motu and Patlu are two friends living in Furfuri Nagar. Samosas are Motu's favorite food, and he frequently tries to steal them from a small shopkeeper named Chaiwala who makes the best samosas in the town, along with selling tea. After Motu eats samosas, he temporarily gains more energy and strength. Motu is mainly the black sheep of the duo, unintentionally creating problems due to his incompetency while Patlu is the smart one who always tries to stop him. The two land in trouble and comical situations, later being rescued only by luck. Ghasitaram occasionally misdirects and swindles them by making them try Dr. Jhatka's vast repertoire of quirky gadgets and gizmos.
The main antagonist of the series is a criminal named "John the Don" (briefly and very famously known as John) who is accompanied by his two big but weak and dumb henchmen, Number 1 and Number 2 who steal people's money and jewelry to create havoc in Furfuri Nagar. John intends to become a don (gangster), but his plans always fail due to the heroic actions of Motu and Patlu, who trap and expose him and his plans tit for tat. In some episodes, John tries to harm them by stealing Dr. Jhatka's newest gadget and using it against Motu and Patlu, but they eventually manage to give John a taste of his own medicine.
Characters
Main
- Motu: Motu is a fat man who serves as one of the show's central protagonists in the show. He loves to eat samosas. Motu's best friend is Patlu.
- Patlu: Patlu is a thin man who serves as one of the show's central protagonists. He is often portrayed as the smartest guy in the city however, he often gets into a lot of trouble with Motu.
Recurring
- Inspector Chingum: Chingum is a police inspector. He believes that no criminal can escape from him, however, he manages to catch them mostly with the help of Motu and Patlu. A recurring gag is that whenever he tries to shoot, coconuts falls on his head.
- Doctor Jhatka: Doctor Jhatka is an eccentric scientist, engineer, a doctor and an inventor, all skills combined together. His inventions are usually very impressive but are of little use to the townspeople, since some of them often get someone in trouble.
- Ghasitaram: Ghasitaram is a cowardly friend of Doctor Jhatka and often claims to have twenty years of experience in various fields but only a very few of the experiences are useful to others.
- John: John serves as the main antagonist of the show. John's ambition is to become a Don. But his plans always fail very badly and thus end up in him getting arrested or being taunted by other people.
- Number 1: Number 1 is John's sidekick who serves as one of the supporting antagonists.
- Number 2: Number 2 is John's goon who serves as one of the supporting antagonists and rarely speaks.
- Chaiwala: Chaiwala owns a tea shop near Motu's house. He makes Motu's favorite samosas and Patlu's favorite tea in the city.
- Boxer: Boxer is Motu's neighbor, he is an aggressive man and professional boxer who sends people in the air by punching (Notably Motu and Patlu).
Other
- Khopdi: Khopdi is a goon who always tries to defeat Motu Patlu. He is the Don of Modern City.
- Pappu-Haddi: They are two assistants of Khopadi.
- Skull: He is the elder brother of Khopdi. He likes to catch animals.
- Commissioner Bubblegum: Commissioner Bubblegum is Chingum's father and the police commissioner of Furfuri Nagar and adjoining villages.
- Hera Singh: Hera is Chingum's first Hawaldars.
- Pheri Lal: Pheri is Chingum's second Hawaldar.
- Sabziwali: Sabziwali sells the best vegetables in the whole Furfuri Nagar. Motu can be troublesome to her too at times and also owes her some money.
- Munni: Munni is Motu's sister who is shown very rarely in the episodes.
- Chotu: Chotu is Motu's nephew (Munni’s son). He wears a green T-shirt with a pink trousers. Sometimes, he wears a brown shirt with yellow trousers.
- Virus Scientist: Virus is a scientist, he always invents something for John. In return, he asks John for money but John somehow fools him and makes him run away. John uses his gadgets on him and puts Virus in trouble.
Production
Music
The music featured in the series and film is written by Sandesh Shandilya, an Indian film composer. The theme song of the series, "Motu Aur Patlu Ki Jodi", is written by Gulzar and sung by Bollywood singer Sukhwinder Singh in Hindi.
Episodes
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6
Season 7
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11
Season 12
Season 13
Season 14
Season 15
***The rest of being added
Movies
Merchandising and promotion
Since the inception of the television series, its creators, Lotpot magazine, Maya Digital Studios and Nickelodeon India have aggressively promoted its merchandising, the series products and tie-ins.
In March 2014, Nick India teamed up with the Yellow Diamond chips brand for promotion of its products across various media. In November 2014 a major deal was signed by Horlicks for promotion of its brand with the series's characters in its marketing advertisements.
Numerous mobile video games based on the series have been released by Indian software companies such as Nazara Technologies and Tangiapps.
References
External links
- Motu Patlu at IMDb
- Official website
- Motu Patlu-Available On Voot Kids
