UrbanAsian.com had the chance to check out the red carpet of the new Disney Junior show coming out this March – Mira, Royal Detective.

Disney Junior’s “Mira, Royal Detective” is an animated mystery-adventure series for preschoolers inspired by the cultures and customs of India. Set in the fictional land of Jalpur, the series follows the brave and resourceful Mira, a commoner who is appointed to the role of royal detective by the Queen. Along with her friend Prince Neel, a talented inventor, creative cousin Priya, and comical mongoose sidekicks Mikku and Chikku, Mira will stop at nothing to solve a case.

MIRA, ROYAL DETECTIVE – Disney Junior hosted the world premiere of upcoming animated series “Mira, Royal Detective” at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA on Saturday, March 7. Cast members including Freida Pinto, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Leela Ladnier were joined by special guests and their families. Debuting March 20, 2020 in the U.S. and India, the series is set in the magical Indian-inspired land of Jalpur and follows the brave and resourceful Mira, a young girl who is appointed to the role of royal detective by the Queen. (Disney Junior/Image Group LA)
ASIF ALI, UTKARSH AMBUDKAR, KARAN BRAR, AARTI SEQUEIRA, HARI KONDABOLU, RITESH RAJAN, LEELA LADNIER, IQBAL THEBA, KAREN DAVID, AVANTIKA VANDANAPU, FREIDA PINTO, PARVESH CHEENA, MAULIK PANCHOLY, SONAL SHAH, RIZWAN MANJI

Each episode features two 11-minute stories spotlighting Mira as she utilizes critical thinking and deductive reasoning to help her family, friends and extended community. Whether it’s tracking down the culprit who stole the Queen’s crown or clearing the name of a falsely accused chicken, Mira believes that every case is important, no matter how big or small. She loves solving puzzles and has a gift for observation, which allows her to see situations from different perspectives.

Rooted in India’s vibrant heritage, each episode of “Mira, Royal Detective” weaves the country’s culture and customs into the storytelling. Shagorika Ghosh Perkins from IW Group serves as the series’ cultural consultant and consulting producer, weighing in on everything from costumes, music, food, and set design to specific holiday traditions and festivals.

Reflecting their importance in Indian culture, music and dance play an integral role in “Mira, Royal Detective.” Each episode features at least one original song and Mira’s signature recurring song, “We’re on the Case.” Both the songs and the underscore pair a variety of South Asian musical styles, including Bollywood, pop, classical, folk, fusion and more, with a classic Disney feel that will resonate with viewers of all ages around the world. The dance numbers also showcase the diversity of the culture, highlighting both northern and southern Indian styles, as well as big Bollywood routines.

Starring as the voice of Mira is Leela Ladnier. Freida Pinto voices the role of Queen Shanti; Hannah Simone is a young commoner named Pinky; Jameela Jamil is Mira’s Auntie Pushpa; Kal Penn and Utkarsh Ambudkar are mongooses Mikku and Chikku, respectively; and Aasif Mandvi is Mira’s father, Sahil. Rounding out the cast is Aparna Nancherla as Mira’s cousin Meena, Roshni Edwards as Mira’s cousin Priya, Kamran Lucas as Prince Neel, Karan Brar as Prince Veer, Karan Soni as Manjeet, Maulik Pancholy as Ranjeet, Sarita Choudhury as Great-Aunt Rupa, Sarayu Blue as the palace tailor and Parvesh Cheena and Sonal Shah as bandits, Manish and Poonam, respectively.

The recurring and guest voice cast for season one includes Kunal Nayyar (“The Big Bang Theory”) as Priya and Meena’s father, Naveen; Danny Pudi (Disney’s “DuckTales”) as Sanjeev, the owner of the town music shop; Iqbal Theba (“Glee”) as Detective Gupta, a former royal detective for the kingdom of Jalpur; Sunita Mani (“GLOW”) as Neeti and Preeti, Mikku and Chikku’s mongoose cousins; Karen David (“Fear the Walking Dead”) as dance teacher, Shilpa, owner of the Chai Shop, Ashima, and royal lady-in-waiting, Rubi; Rizwan Manji (“Perfect Harmony”) as town spice seller Mr. Khan and Dhruv’s dad Ajay Sharma; Hari Kondabolu (“Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell”) as vegetable cart vendor, Mr. Walia; Nardeep Khurmi (“Jane the Virgin”) as animal characters Bhanu (goat), Deputy Oosha (cow) and Raj (chicken), as well as Dhaba owner, Mr. Puri; Aarti Sequeira (“The Next Food Network Star”) as Chef Shobha; Avantika Vandanapu (Disney+ Original Series “Diary of a Future President”) as Ashima’s daughter, Kamala; Julian Zane (Disney’s “Doc McStuffins”) as Mira’s friend Dhruv; Brian George (“The Big Bang Theory”) as owner of the local art shop, Mr. Burman; Sakina Jaffrey (“House of Cards”) as Auntie Pushpa’s best friend, Mrs. Kapadia; and Madhur Jaffrey (“I Feel Bad”) as an elderly Auntie in town, Mrs. Chopra.

Emmy^® Award-nominated Sascha Paladino (“Miles from Tomorrowland”) is the executive producer of the series, which was developed by Becca Topol (“Elena of Avalor”), who also serves as story editor. Sue Perrotto and Dorothea Gerassimova (both of “Phineas and Ferb”) are supervising director and art director, respectively.

Emmy Award nominees Matthew Tishler (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”) and Jeannie Lurie (“The Muppets”) write and produce all of the original songs, and Amritha Vaz (“Miss India America”) serves as a composer. Deepak Ramapriyan (“Basmati Blues”) is the music consultant on the series and also provides additional orchestration for the song arrangements. World-renowned musician Zakir Hussain plays tabla on the theme song.

MIRA, ROYAL DETECTIVE – Disney Junior hosted the world premiere of upcoming animated series “Mira, Royal Detective” at The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA on Saturday, March 7. Cast members including Freida Pinto, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Leela Ladnier were joined by special guests and their families. Debuting March 20, 2020 in the U.S. and India, the series is set in the magical Indian-inspired land of Jalpur and follows the brave and resourceful Mira, a young girl who is appointed to the role of royal detective by the Queen. (Disney Junior/Image Group LA) FREIDA PINTO

Acclaimed Bollywood choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan (“So You Think You Can Dance”) serves as the dance consultant and choreographer for the series.

“Mira, Royal Detective” is produced by Wild Canary in association with Disney Junior, with animation provided by Technicolor India. It carries a TV-Y parental guideline.

Please follow and like us: