Motu Patlu (also written as मोटू पतलू and Motu Patalu) is a hugely popular animated comedy series broadcast on Nickelodeon India. Cosmic-Maya Studios and Viacom 18 are responsible for the show’s production. The original comic strip, Lotpot, served as inspiration for this work. Motu Patlu were originally comic characters in a comic Hindi magazine Lotpot. The TV show debuted on October 16, 2012.
The TV show follows two pals named Motu and Patlu as they make their way through Furfuri Nagar and later, Modern City, all of which are fictitious. When 2019 rolled around, Motu Patlu and pals were backpacking throughout the Continent. In the latter part of 2021, Motu Patlu and his pals began their travels in India. In the present day, they make their home in New Modern City.
Suhas Kadav has directed the TV show. Deepa Sahi and Anish J.S. Mehta are the producers. Sandesh Shandilya composed “Motu Aur Patlu Ki Jodi,” sung by Sukhwinder Singh, which serves as the show’s theme song. It’s a huge hit with kids all around India.
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Popularity of Motu Patlu
The popularity of the show can be guessed by the fact that according to Google Trends for 2018, the show’s name is the ninth most popular search term in India and the fourth most popular search term worldwide.
Motu Patlu, a huge hit in India, has also become a huge hit in China. According to China Internet Report 2019, it was the fourth most popular show on Google in 2018.
Like Laurel and Hardy, Motu Patlu is an iconic Indian cartoon series. Motu and Patlu, two best friends, are always getting into mischief and being hunted by the police. More than three million people tuned in to see the show in 2018 across WowKidz, Cosmos Mayas’, and Youtube India. Curiously, the show is restricted in certain regions of the world on the video-sharing website Youtube.
Plot
Characters Motu and Patlu, both natives of Furfuri Nagar, go about their days doing various things together. The plot revolves around the two of them getting into increasingly precarious and funny circumstances, from which they are rescued by sheer luck. Motu’s favourite snack is samosas, and he is often trying to steal them from a local merchant named Chaiwala who runs a tiny shop selling tea and samosas. Motu is the duo’s black sheep, often causing trouble via his own ineptitude, while Patlu is the bright one who is always trying to rein him in. Ghasitaram, Dr. Jhatka, and Chingum were only a few of the recurring characters. On occasion, Ghasitaram connives by having them test out one of Dr. Jhatka’s many oddball devices. Motu has more stamina and strength than usual after eating samosas, but only for a short time. The shack in which Motu Patlu makes his home. Furfuri Apartment is the name of their modern-day home in this iteration.
The main villains of the show are “John the Don” (sometimes known simply as “John”) and his two massive but weak and dumb minions, Number 1 and Number 2, who cause mayhem in Furfuri Nagar by robbing residents of their money and jewellery. Despite John’s best efforts, Motu and Patlu constantly manage to foil his attempts to become a don by catching him in his own traps and exposing him and his schemes. Sometimes John tries to hurt them by taking Dr. Jhatka’s latest technology and using it against Motu and Patlu, but in the end, John gets a taste of his own medicine.
New characters were introduced as they moved to Modern City in later episodes.
Main characters
Motu
One of the show’s main protagonists is a chubby man named Motu. Samosas are his favourite food, and they give him superhuman strength, allowing him to take down many stronger opponents. The samosas also boost his reflexes, stamina, vision, and brainpower, enabling him to move swiftly and intelligently as well as to lift heavy objects. Patlu is Motu’s closest confidant. His clumsiness gets him in trouble quite frequently. He’s always on the lookout for the quickest way to make some dough, have some fun, and stuff his face with samosas. When he’s particularly elated over a triumph, he can act irrationally, like bringing a pirate back to the present from the past. Also, he brags about accomplishments he never made.
Motu has a kind heart and genuinely wants to help people, but he is also easily duped, especially by John. Not an idiot, but a simple man, is what Patlu once put it. Although he lacks the qualifications for any position, he and Patlu try their luck as constables, ward boys, cleaners, delivery boys, etc., only to cause trouble and get let go from each place of employment. He’s bald on top but still sports a full head of hair behind the ears. Furthermore, he sports a full beard and moustache. His pyjamas and shoes are yellow, and he wears a red tunic with a blue (mainly black) vest. The effect of Dara Singh on his speech pattern is clear. His depiction suggests that he has a pathological fear of rodents. He was about six or seven years old when he was taken from his father in the film Motu Patlu in Alien World. During his search for extraterrestrial life, his father is thought to have been kidnapped by aliens from planet Axar. Specifically, he says, “Khaali pet mere dimaag ki batti nahi chalti tum hi kuch karo!” (which translates to “You do something, I can’t think on an empty stomach! “).
Patlu
Patlu, a skinny man, is a main character in the play. He’s said to be the city’s brightest young man, but he always seems to get in hot water with Motu. He doesn’t care for samosas but devours newspapers. There’s lore that his grandpa was a boxing great with a secret recipe for superhuman power. This is something Motu learns to be true later on. To put it bluntly, he is weak. When they’re both alone, he and John can go toe-to-toe, but when other strong criminals or John’s minions, especially Number 1, join in, John wins every time. He has a braid on his shaved head. He has on a pair of brown shoes, a pair of brown glasses, and an orange tunic. Idea!” and “Motu kuch karo!” are two of his catchphrases. Whenever Motu causes difficulty, he yells, “Motu, do something!”
In the episodes set in the Modern City and during the Europe Tour, he dons a yellow tunic with a curving blue stripe down the left side and blue trousers.
Inspector B. Chingum
The inspector in the police department is named B. Chingum. He’s confident that no criminal can outwit him, but Motu and Patlu usually end up helping him bring them to justice. Chingum is a Rajinikanth fan and fluent South Indian speaker who is known for his kindness and concern. No criminal has ever gotten away from him, and this is something he is quite proud of. As a police officer, he uses a green motorcycle and a vehicle. Hera and Pheri, two constables, will occasionally assist Chingum. As seen in “Motu Patlu: Double Trouble,” he is also a married man. His brown, silky hair reaches his nape, and his moustache extends to the bottom of his jaw. Chingum has a khaki police uniform with a name tag and medals and badges affixed to it. Sunglasses are another accessory he frequently dons.
In the older episodes, Chingum wears a blue handkerchief with white dots on his left wrist, which was replaced by a Smart Watch GT08 in the newest edition of the show. He launches himself into the air during his monologues, only to crash to the ground as a clump of coconuts lands on his head. Whether he’s on the moon or Antarctica, he can shoot a coconut with ease. In various episodes he is shown that he occasionally commands coconuts to fall on adversaries, to halt Motu Patlu, etc. He’s particularly fond of idli, dosa, sambar, vada, and coconut chutney, all staples of South Indian cuisine.
Ghasitaram
Ghasitaram is a coward who brags frequently about his twenty years of expertise in numerous areas, but only a very small fraction of that experience is actually helpful to others. He is of Bengali descent, having been born in Ghatal, West Midnapore, West Bengal. His “experiences of 20 years,” much like Dr. Jhatka’s, frequently get other people into trouble, most notably Motu and Patlu. Nonetheless, there are occasions in which Motu and Patlu seek his assistance. Dr. Jhatka’s lab assistant. Ghasita also lends a hand to Dr. Jhatka in the lab by conducting experiments and convincing Motu and Patlu to try out the good doctor’s new ideas. His style is essentially a carbon copy of Patlu’s. He had on a dark brown vest and matching brown shoes to go with his cobalt blue tunic.
He changes into a peach-colored tunic, an olive-green vest, and brown leggings for their time spent in Modern City and travelling throughout Europe.
Doctor Jhatka
The good doctor Jhatka is a bit of a nutcase. When he was younger, he worked as a dentist in certain episodes. His creations tend to be impressive to onlookers but useless to regular citizens. This habitually leads to difficulty for the person involved. He gets around in a flying yellow automobile. Jhatka has a shortened hairline and wears a green shirt, violet tie, blue pants, olive-strapped black shoes, and violet socks. His grandfather is depicted as a wealthy man looking for his grandchild in Furfuri Nagar, and his appearance is a near-identical copy of Motu’s.
Jhatka sometimes puts Motu and Patlu through their paces as test subjects for his gadgets without warning. As a result, Motu and Patlu are constantly beating him up. The first place finisher may be able to defeat him. If he forgets to mention his devices, especially his flying helmet, he gets beaten up by Motu Patlu and the gang in practically every movie and episode.
In later episodes, he switches to a pair of denim slacks to replace the brown ones he originally wore with a yellow shirt featuring white flowery oriental motifs, a green necktie, and a violet check jacket. In the laboratory, he wears protective goggles, a white shirt, turquoise pants, and boots. He dresses just like the scientists do. When he travels to Europe, he does so in a red flying automobile.
Boxer
The neighbour down the street from Motu is a man named Boxer, and he is an aggressive man. This boxer is decked up with red boxing gloves, a white tank top, and red shorts with vertical yellow stripes. On the back of his shirt, in red letters with an orange outline, it says “BOXER.” He also pairs a black shirt with blue pants on occasion. Mr. Thakur trains him to box. Boxer means well when he offers assistance to his neighbours, but his anger leads him to resort to violence instead.
Boxer has superhuman strength, allowing him to strike through solid walls and send his victims into the stratosphere. He is not particularly swift and is easily duped. If he eats samosas, Motu might beat him. The fact that he can’t put his son, Sunny, to sleep demonstrates that he is a poor dad. We learn in “Judwa Boxer” that he has a timid sibling who eventually musters the courage to rescue him from Motu and Patlu’s clutches. In the episode Motu Mobile, he reveals to his American mom his real name: Raju. He and Chingum get along great, and they frequently work together to take down Motu and Patlu.
John
The show’s primary villain is named John. John wants to rise to the rank of Don. His line of speech is a hearty “Mwah-ha-ha-ha!” “John banega Don, John banea Don!” But his schemes invariably backfire spectacularly, either to his incarceration or the ridicule of others. A few of his short poems are read aloud. But although most robbers fear Chingum, he shudders at the thought of Motu and Patlu. He’s fat and short, so people just assume the worst of him. He’s a thieving genius and he’s got a gun. In addition to fooling Motu, he can also deceive other people. In addition, he excels at acting as someone else and adopting a false identity. However, Patlu is far more perceptive than him.
John’s got on a dark blue dress shirt with yellow underwear, a brown belt, dark blue slacks with blue cuffs, and brown shoes. He wears three gold chains, has a locket with the letter “J” engraved on it, and rings on every finger but his thumb. On his left cheek, he has a black mole. He enjoys robbing jewellery stores and banks alike. A van is one of his possessions. It is revealed in the episode “Motu the Radio Jockey” that John has had an interest in stealing ever since he was a young boy. He first stole from a neighbor’s house, then stole chocolate from a girl, then stole from restaurants.
Number 1
One of the secondary villains is Number 1, John’s goon. He admires John’s little poems, but John always beats him up. Every time he offers John one of his bright ideas for catching Motu and Patlu, John dismisses it as a stupid plan and beats him, claiming that he has a superior strategy. He admires John, yet he is always John’s first victim. He has on a hat with a blue French check pattern, a shirt with magenta stripes, blue jeans, and a yellow ascot tie.
He dons a green zig-zag shirt, red ascot tie, red beret, and dark brown shoes in later episodes.
Number 2
The second number represents John’s silent goon. His huge nose is bandaged and he has a dark mark over one eye. The updated version, however, does not feature the dark mark over one of his eyes or the bandage over his nose. He has brownish-orange slacks, a brownish-brown striped shirt, and an aquamarine ascot tie.
Chaiwala
Tea business owner Chaiwala lives at an undisclosed location close to Motu’s, but no one knows where. In earlier episodes, Motu is shown stealing his favourite samosas and Patlu’s favourite tea from his business because he is made by the same man. Chaiwala does not appreciate it when people in Furfuri Nagar steal his food, but he periodically compensates Motu by cancelling his debt to him or promising him more free samosas for his trouble. When Motu fails to pay Chaiwala, he often receives physical punishment. His undershirt and lungi are white, and he drapes a towel over his neck to dab at the perspiration that builds up.
Motu Patlu Merchandising
Since the show’s debut, the producers have worked closely with Lotpot magazine, Maya Digital Studios, and Nickelodeon India to promote a wide range of licenced merchandise.
Nick India began promoting its products in tandem with the Yellow Diamond chips brand in March 2014. Horlicks inked a huge deal in November 2014 to use the show’s characters to promote its brand in marketing campaigns.