Nikhil and Jay: Nikhil and Jay and the Monsooooooon!

Descriptive Transcript

[Upbeat music plays]

DESCRIPTION: In animation, a boy with short brown hair, Nikhil, opens the front door of a townhouse. Nikhil wears a red hooded pullover sweater. His younger brother, Jay, jumps up to the door. Jay has short brown hair and wears a purple long-sleeved shirt with a green collar and green cuffs.

NIKHIL: Hi, I'm Nikhil.

JAY: And I'm Jay!

NIKHIL: Here's a little story about where our family's from.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil pulls down a map. Illustrations of their mother, Amma, and their father, Appa, appear. Amma has chin-length brown hair and wears orange glasses. Appa has short brown hair and a thick brown beard.

BROTHERS [singing]: It starts in South India with Amma, our mom. She caught a plane to England and met our dad, Appa!

DESCRIPTION: Appa and Amma dance side by side while Appa holds a cup of tea. Amma wears a blue top with orange pants. Appa wears a red quarter-zip sweater and blue pants.

BROTHERS [singing]: She loves to dance, and he makes the best cuppa!

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay dance together and with their parents.

BROTHERS [singing]: Oh! And then we came along. Oh! And this is our song. Oh-oh, Nikhil and Jay! Oh-oh, Nikhil and Jay!

JAY [singing]: Nikhil likes… Missions!

NIKHIL [singing]: Jay likes… Being loud!

BROTHERS [singing]: We both love to dream!

DESCRIPTION: Miniature versions of Nikhil and Jay play on a carrom board. The brothers fly through the sky in a rocket ship.

BROTHERS [singing]: We can shoot a carrom pocket! Yeah, or blast off in a rocket! We make the greatest team.

NIKHIL: Wait.

JAY: What!?

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay hold up a tablet, displaying a video call with their grandparents, Ammamma and Thatha. Ammamma is wearing an orange-and-blue sari, and Thatha is wearing a beige shirt with glasses hanging around his neck. Behind Nikhil and Jay are their other set of grandparents, Jim and Nana. Jim has gray hair and wears a green shirt. He is holding a plate of food. Nana has gray hair and wears a yellow high-visibility jacket. She is holding a crossing guard sign.

BROTHERS [singing]: There's Ammamma and Thatha! And Jim and Nana! And don't forget Max the cat!

DESCRIPTION: An orange cat, Max, licks his paw. The whole family dances together.

[Max meowing]

FAMILY [singing]: Oh-oh, Nikhil and Jay! Oh-oh, Nikhil and Jay, Oh-oh, Nikhil and Jay, Oh-oh, Nikhil and Jay!

[Introduction music ends]

[Opening credits] “BBC”.

[Title] “Nikhil and Jay.

[Credits continue] Based on the books by Chitra Soundar.”

[Episode title] “Nikhil and Jay and the Monsooooooon!”

[Credits continue] “Series Director: Jamie Teehan. Director: Nandita Jain. Written by: Andrew Brenner and Sumita Majumdar.”

DESCRIPTION: Amma, Nikhil, and Jay are sitting together in the living room, video calling Ammamma and Thatha on their tablet.

[Both giggling]

NIKHIL AND JAY: Hello, Ammamma and Thatha!

DESCRIPTION: On the video call, Ammamma and Thatha wave.

THATHA: Hello, [Unclear]!

[Banging]

NIKHIL: What's that noisy noise?

JAY: Are you playing the drums, Thatha?

AMMAMMA: Drums? No, no, no, no! It's the rain.

THATHA: Ah! The monsoon rain! Look! Look! Look!

DESCRIPTION: Thatha spins around his tablet to show Nikhil, Jay, and Amma an open window. Outside, palm trees bend in the wind, and heavy rain pours down.

NIKHIL: Ooh! The trees are dancing!

[Jay gasping]

DESCRIPTION: Jay tries to grab the tablet from Amma.

JAY: Dancing trees! Let me see! Let me see!

NIKHIL: Wow! Monsoon rain looks amazing!

DESCRIPTION: The video call suddenly glitches and disconnects.

THATHA: Hello?

JAY: What's happening?

AMMA: Aye-oh! They've been cut off. There's probably been a power cut. Because of the storm. It happens sometimes in the monsoon rain.

BOTH: Wow!

NIKHIL: Have you ever seen a monsoon rain, Amma?

AMMA: Seen it? I've danced in it like those trees.

[Nikhil and Jay gasping]

NIKHIL AND JAY: Wow!

DESCRIPTION: Amma stands up.

AMMA: Everyone would hurry, hurry! Fussing around with their umbrellas, but I'd throw mine down enjoying the warm monsoon rain.

DESCRIPTION: Amma dances around the living room.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Wahoo!

[Laughing]

AMMA: It wasn't just rain-rain. It was monsoon rain!

NIKHIL AND JAY: Wow!

DESCRIPTION: Jay dances with Amma.

JAY: Amma! I want to dance like a tree in the monsoon rain, too.

[Jay giggling]

DESCRIPTION: In his imagination, Jay dances in an illustration of a monsoon. He bends back and forth alongside palm trees as heavy rain falls.

JAY: Yay!

[Upbeat music]

DESCRIPTION: Back in reality.

BOTH: Yay!

DESCRIPTION: Jay stands next to Amma in the living room.

JAY: Yay! That was the best monsoon rain dance ever, ever, ever!

[Nikhil laughing]

NIKHIL: But it's not actually raining in here, Jay.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay look out the window. It is a bright, sunny day, with not a single cloud in the sky.

NIKHIL: Hmm. Or outside.

JAY: Aw! Boring!

DESCRIPTION: Jay and Nikhil listen to something.

JAY: Wait! What is that?

BOTH [gasping]: Rain!

JAY: Yay!

DESCRIPTION: Jay grabs his stuffed animal from the couch and looks under a cushion. Nikhil looks under the coffee table.

NIKHIL: Hmm. Where is it?

JAY: Aw.

BOTH: The kitchen!

[Both giggling]

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay run into the kitchen.

[Both gasping]

DESCRIPTION: The sink is turned on, and water rushes out. Appa is doing the dishes.

[Water running]

NIKHIL AND JAY: Uh.

APPA: Oh! Hello there, lads.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay frown.

JAY: Aw. It's only Appa.

APPA: Uh, the one and only Appa. Huh.

[Appa chuckling]

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay frown, slumping their shoulders.

[Groaning]

[Sighing]

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay leave the kitchen and walk into the living room. They look out the window.

JAY: How can we make it really rain?

NIKHIL: Like an actual monsoon?

[Meditation music]

DESCRIPTION: Suddenly, Appa appears behind Nikhil and Jay. He sits with his legs crossed and his hands on his knees, in a meditative position. Appa’s eyes are closed.

APPA [echoing]: Ah. Only the sky can commune with the monsoon.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay shrug and look at each other, looking confused.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Huh?

DESCRIPTION: Appa appears beside Jay.

APPA: You need to speak to the sky.

JAY: Oh! Okay!

DESCRIPTION: Jay shouts at the sky.

JAY: Sky! Sky! We need a monsoon!

[Pause]

JAY: Oh! Please!

DESCRIPTION: Appa smiles at Nikhil and Jay.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Monsoon! Monsoon!

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay run outside and chant at the sky.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon!

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay run around in circles. Jay stops and frowns.

JAY: Oh! Sky! When are you gonna rain?

[Jay groaning]

DESCRIPTION: Jay sits down on the grass. Max the cat frowns at Jay.

[Meowing]

NIKHIL: Hmm.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil holds his walkie-talkie like a microphone and stands in front of a bush like a weather presenter map.

NIKHIL: Let's take a look at today's weather. It's raining in Chennai, which is

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil picks up a stick and gestures to the bush with it.

NIKHIL: way, way, way over there. But as you can see, it's not raining here.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil uses the stick to gesture to various parts of the backyard.

NIKIHIL: Or here. Or here. Or even here!

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil gestures to Max.

[Max purring]

DESCRIPTION: Jay grabs the stick and waves it at the sky. Max tries to grab the stick.

JAY: Magic sky! Magic sky! Please make a monsoon! Please!

DESCRIPTION: Suddenly, Jay bumps into Amma. She drops a large pile of white fluff.

AMMA: Yo! [Unclear]!

JAY: Oops. Sorry. It's the sky! It won't rain!

[Jay gasping]

JAY: Do you know how to make a monsoon, Amma?

[Amma laughing]

AMMA: No. I'm afraid a storm is beyond my powers,

DESCRIPTION: Amma picks up the white fluff in her arms.

AMMA: But what I do know is if I don't get this cushion order finished, I'll have a very stormy customer.

[Amma chuckling]

AMMA: Stormy customer.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Hmm.

DESCRIPTION: Amma walks into the shed. Nikhil and Jay look up at the blue sky. There is not a single cloud in the sky.

[Nikhil and Jay sighing]

DESCRIPTION: Suddenly, bubbles float through the air around Nikhil and Jay.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Whoa! Ooh!

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil picks up his walkie-talkie and uses it as a microphone.

NIKHIL: Weather flash! Low-flying bubble clouds have been spotted.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay look at the kitchen window, where Appa does dishes, making bubbles float outside.

[Nikhil and Jay laughing]

NIKHIL AND JAY: Wahoo!

[Drum music]

JAY: I could dance like a tree in the bubble rain!

DESCRIPTION: Jay dances with his arms raised above his head.

[Meowing]

DESCRIPTION: The bubbles disappear.

JAY: Huh? Ah! But bubble rain isn't monsoony.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil uses his walkie-talkie as a microphone.

NIKHIL: No more bubbles and still no monsoon. Time to talk to some of the locals.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil holds the radio up to Max.

NIKHIL: Max the cat! Are you looking forward to the monsoon rain?

[Meowing]

NIKHIL: I'll take that as a yes. How would you--

JAY: Nikhil, look!

NIKHIL: Huh? Wait! I'm in the middle of a weather report.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil turns back to Max.

NIKHIL: Sorry about that. Where were we? How do you--

JAY: A cloud is coming!

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil looks at the sky, where Jay is pointing at a cat-shaped cloud.

JAY: Look! Look!

NIKHIL: Wahoo! We have a cloud!

JAY: A big Max-shaped cloud! That means it's going to rain! Whee!

DESCRIPTION: Jay runs around the yard.

JAY: I'm gonna dance like a tree! Monsoon! Monsoon!

DESCRIPTION: Jay and Nikhil chant and dance together.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon!

DESCRIPTION: Amma sticks her head out of the shed.

[Amma laughing]

JAY: Amma! Amma! Look! The monsoon is coming!

BOTH: Yeah!

DESCRIPTION: Just then, the cloud disappears.

JAY: Ah! No! The monsoon is going!

NIKHIL: Oh!

DESCRIPTION: Amma walks over and gives Nikhil and Jay a hug.

AMMA: Aw. Sorry, [Unclear]. You might have to wait until you go to Chennai to see a monsoon.

BOTH: Aw!

DESCRIPTION: As Amma stands up to leave, a small piece of white fluff falls off her. Jay’s eyes light up.

JAY: Huh? I know where we can get the monsoon clouds.

[Giggling]

NIKHIL: Huh? In a shed?

DESCRIPTION: Jay runs into Amma’s workshed and grabs an armful of white fluff.

JAY: Yay!

[Giggling]

DESCRIPTION: Jay throws the fluff into the air.

JAY: Monsoon clouds!

[Jay giggling]

DESCRIPTION: The fluff lands on Max, giving him a white, fluffy beard.

[Nikhil giggling]

JAY: It's the stuff you fluff that Amma makes into cushions.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil looks at the fluff.

NIKHIL: Hmm. How can we turn you into a monsoon cloud?

DESCRIPTION: In his imagination, Nikhil stands in front of three spinning blocks. They are illustrated with symbols of the sun, water, and rain.

NIKHIL: Sun plus water makes cloud and cloud plus water makes rain!

DESCRIPTION: Back in reality

NIKHIL: Actually, our monsoon cloud needs water!

DESCRIPTION: Later, Max bathes in the sun. Nikhil and Jay have a metal bowl filled with water on the patio table outside. Nikhi and Jay put their hands in the water, but quickly pull them out.

[Nikhil and Jay screaming]

JAY: It's c-c-cold, Nikhil. Amma said the monsoon rain would be warm.

NIKHIL: Um.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil looks at Max, who is bathing in the sun.

[Meowing]

NIKHIL: Hmm.

[Gasping]

NIKHIL: Let's warm it in the sun.

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil drops the wet fluff on the grass in a patch of sunshine. Jay lies down next to it.

JAY: Hmm.

DESCRIPTION: The sunshine moves away. Jay and Nikhil pick up the wet fluff and run after the sunshine.

[Gasping]

JAY: To the sun! Go, go, go!

AMMA: I thought you were chasing the rain, not the sun.

NIKHIL: Making monsoon rain is very complicated, Amma.

[Laughing]

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay continue to run around the yard.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Yahoo! Yeah! Yeah! Huh?

DESCRIPTION: Suddenly, the sunshine disappears. Nikhil takes out his walkie-talkie and speaks into it.

NIKHIL: Weather flash! Patchy sun spots are being blocked by--

[Gasping]

NIKHIL: A rain cloud!

DESCRIPTION: Clouds are gathered in the sky, and a drop of rain falls on Jay’s nose.

[Gasping]

NIKHIL: Yes!

BOTH: The monsoon is coming! Monsoon! Monsoon! Monsoon! Yeah!

DESCRIPTION: The rain stops.

BOTH: Aw!

DESCRIPTION: In the kitchen, Amma and Appa count cushions.

[Both speaking in foreign language]

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay walk into the kitchen. Their shoulders are slumped, and they are frowning.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Amma.

AMMA: Hey, you two. Why the wet faces? Is it raining?

JAY: No! It's not raining. It's boring!

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay sit on the kitchen floor.

NIKHIL: It's drizzling.

JAY: We wanted to dance like monsoon trees, not drizzle trees.

AMMA: Aw. Come here, boys. Another thing I loved about the monsoon rain was coming back in and snuggling up with Ammamma.

[Sighing]

AMMA: And listening to the loud rain drumming on the roof.

[Drumming]

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil, Jay, and Amma look up to see Appa drumming his hands against the kitchen counter.

[Laughing]

[Gasping]

DESCRIPTION: Appa hands Nikhil and Jay each a metal pot and a wooden spoon.

NIKHIL AND JAY: Yeah!

[Banging]

NIKHIL AND JAY: Yeah!

[Phone ringing]

JAY: Where's that coming from? Is it the monsoon calling?

AMMA: Hmm.

DESCRIPTION: Amma walks over to the tablet, where Ammamma and Thatha are video calling.

[Chuckling]

AMMA: Thatha! Hello! Is it still raining there?

THATHA: No, no! It's stopped now. And the power has come back too!

[Appa chuckling]

APPA: Well, we're having a monsoon in here. Can you hear it?

DESCRIPTION: Nikhil and Jay slap the ground and bang on plates.

NIKHIL: It's raining here.

JAY: And here!

NIKHIL: And here!

JAY: And here!

DESCRIPTION: Max hits his tail against some bowls.

APPA: And even here!

AMMAMMA: I hear you! Oh, the noisy noise!

ALL: Monsoon!

DESCRIPTION: Appa, Amma, Nikhil, and Jay dance together in the living room.

[Cheering, laughing]

AMMA: Tree in the wind! Oh!

DESCRIPTION: Amma dances around the living room, crashing into the carrom board. The pieces go flying.

[Crashing]

[All laughing]

[Upbeat music]

[End Credits] “Cast. Nikhil: Shiv Senthilkumar, Jay: Sai Ganesh Nadesan, Amma: Charithra Chandran, Appa: Ben Harris, Mr. Awan: Tez Ilyas, Max: Harriet Carmichael. Casting: Brilliant Casting. Additional Voice Direction: Jessica Hann. Composers: Sidh Solanki and Shridhar Solanki. Lead Storyboard Artist: Rosie Cash. Storyboard Artist: Sophie Osinski. Script Editor: Becky Overton. Produced with funding from the Northern Ireland Screen and Cake. King Banana, Paper Owl Films for BBC. An Albert Certified Production.”