Maya is an American hour-long adventure television series that aired on NBC, Saturdays from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., from September 16, 1967 until February 10, 1968. The series is a follow-up to the 1966 film of the same name, with Jay North and Sajid Khan reprising their roles. Set in the Indian jungle, the series centered on an American boy searching for his missing father, a big game hunter.
Synopsis
The series starred teenage Jay North (famous for starring as Dennis the Menace as a child) as Terry Bowen, and Indian actor Sajid Khan (also prominent in his homeland from his child-acting background) as Raji, a native boy who joined up with the lead. Raji's elephant, Maya, gave the series its name. Maya was Terry and Raji's source of transportation, as well as providing help when flight or rescue was needed. The series ended after 18 episodes due to low ratings. It featured guest appearances by several noted Indian character actors, such as Iftekhar, Prem Nath, Manmohan Krishna, Chaman Puri and I. S. Johar. Amrish Puri and Shatrughan Sinha who were newcomers at the time also made guest appearances.
Japanese singer Rajie got her stage name from the character Raji.
DVD release
On August 19, 2014, Warner Bros. released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release.