Interest
Shin-chan Is Going To India and Might Just Become A Bollywood Star
posted on by Adriana Hazra
The first movie in the franchise set in India adopting a musical format might be a choice fans have seen coming, but that doesn't make it any less exciting. Bollywood not only produces the highest number of films per year, but it's arguably one of India's biggest cultural exports. The staff for the film have confirmed, that in true Bollywood fashion, Shinnosuke and the members of the Kasukabe Defense Force will dance in the film. And a Bollywood dance number from the character might be long overdue.
The Indian localization of Crayon Shin-chan often features voice actor Akanksha Sharma's renditions various popular Bollywood music, sang in a uniquely silly Shinchan way. One of the most popular anime franchises in India, Shinchan began airing on Hungama TV in 2006, and was soon taken off the air in 2008 despite the show's massive popularity. Multiple news reports cited growing concerns about the impact of the show on children, with parents stating that children who are fans of the show often imitate the titular character's antics. An investigation by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting caused the removal of the show from TV. After some censorship and some heavy adaptation of the script, Shinchan came back to Indian TV in 2009, but without the cartoon nudity or risque jokes. To keep things kid-friendly, many of those jokes were laced with PG pop-culture reference closer to home, with Shinchan bursting into song every now and again as Indian kids imitating movies often do.
The promotional materials for the new movie depict Shinchan all decked out in the cutest kurta along with Bo-chan, who will be real star of the show this time. The film's title features the word "Karei" in kanji, which literally means "magnificent," but also features a pun on the Japanese word for curry, also spelled "karei" but in the katakana alphabet instead of in kanji. Director Masakazu Hashimoto spoke about the how he and screenwriter Kimiko Ueno travelled to India location-scouting for the film, experiencing the country's spicy curry and scorching heat first hand. If we're listing things that are beloved in both Japan and India, most would think of curry or Shinnosuke Nohara off the top of their head. Japan has also been known to enjoy its share of Indian flair with films like S. S. Rajamouli's RRR earning over 2.2 billion yen (approximately ₹1,27,69,92,791) in Japanese theaters, inspiring merch, and getting "cheering screenings." So hopefully, alongside being the first Crayon Shin-chan film set in the country, this will be the first film in the franchise to get a theatrical release in India as well.
Hashimoto, who has previously directed many films in the franchise including the 30th film Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Mononoke Ninja Chinpūden, is directing the new film. Ueno (Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Mononoke Ninja Chinpūden, Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Shinkon Ryokō Hurricane) is returning to the franchise to write the screenplay.
The 31st 2D animated film in the franchise, Eiga Crayon Shin-chan: Ora-tachi no Kyōryū Nikki (Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Our Dinosaur Diary), premiered in Japan on August 9. The film opened in Japan at #2. The film sold 365,000 tickets and earned 455,302,200 yen (about US$3.05 million) in its first three days, and sold 510,000 tickets and earned 636 million yen (about US$4.32 million) in its first four days including Monday (August 10 was the Mountain Day holiday in Japan).
Source: Crayon Shin-chan film series' website
