Mira, Royal Detective production team has placed an emphasis on authenticity by hiring South Asians artists, designers, and cultural consultants. Some notable people recruited are Shagorika Ghosh as the series’ cultural consultant, Nakul Dev Mahajan (“So You Think You Can Dance”) as the Bollywood dancer and choreographer, and Deepak Ramapriyan (“Basmati Blues”) as the music producer. This will be the first animated show reflecting South Asians on Disney and attention to detail is necessary. Through this show, the next generation of desi children will get a chance to embrace their roots and culture.
As royal detective, Mira (Leela Ladnier) travels throughout the kingdom helping royals and commoners alike. Along with her friend Prince Neel (Kamran Lucas), a talented inventor, creative cousin Priya (Roshni Edwards), and comical mongoose sidekicks Mikku (Kal Penn) and Chikku (Utkarsh Ambudkar), she will stop at nothing to solve a case, taking young viewers on adventures and encourage deductive reasoning. Other characters to appear in the show include Queen Shanti (Freida Pinto), Pinky (Hannah Simone), Auntie Pushpa (Jameela Jamil), Mira‘s cousin Meena (Aparna Nancherla) and Mira’s father Sahil (Aasif Mandvi). Rooted in India’s vibrant heritage, each episode will weave authentic music, dance and customs into two 11-minutes stories.
Check out the India Currents exclusive behind the scenes video to see research being done for Mira, Royal Detective.
The all-star South Asian cast reiterates the sentiment – it is novel and refreshing to see representation in such a wholesome way. Here is a sneak peek into the cast and show, Mira, Royal Detective, airing tomorrow, March 20th on Disney Junior!
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Srishti Prabha is the current Assistant Editor at India Currents and has worked in low income/affordable housing as an advocate for women and people of color. She is passionate about diversifying spaces, preserving culture, and removing barriers to equity.
Emmy® Award-nominated Sascha Paladino (“Miles from Tomorrowland”) is executive producer of the series, which was developed by Becca Topol (“Elena of Avalor”) who also serves as story editor. Sue Perotto and Dorothea Schoentag (both of “Phineas and Ferb”) are supervising director and art director, respectively. IW Group’s Shagorika Ghosh is the series’ cultural consultant. Additional consultants include Bollywood dancer and choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan (“So You Think You Can Dance”) and music producer Deepak Ramapriyan (“Basmati Blues”). Emmy Award nominees Matthew Tishler (“Fancy Nancy”) and Jeannie Lurie (“The Muppets”) will write and produce original songs, and Amritha Vaz (“Miss India America”) will serve as composer. The series is produced by Wild Canary in association with Disney Junior.
