The producers of Sisimpur tailored their co-production to meet certain aspects of Bangladeshi culture. While the American production of Sesame Street is set in an urban neighborhood, the Sisimpur crew wanted their street to more accurately reflect the lives of its television audience.

Watch the production team talk about what they want Sisimpur to be to its audience (2:39)

Because most Bangladeshi viewers live in rural areas, the producers decided to base their show in a neighborhood that was neither rural nor urban. They defined Sisimpur as a joyful, friendly, safe haven where all residents were equal regardless of gender or class. The river district of Mymensingh also provided inspiration as a model for Sisimpur.

Saidul Haque Juise, the Sisimpur set designer, used memories of where he grew up to influence the show’s set design. The carefully planned set was turned on an angle to be a rectangle instead of a square, providing a skewed line of perspective that was better suited to the television camera. Juise turned his own house into a set-building workshop, with two production teams working around the clock on two different shifts—even sleeping at Juise’s house when the floods came and they couldn’t go home. The dedication paid off, and with details and features such as the tea and sweet shops, leaves and homes, the set helped to create a program that is uniquely and meaningfully Bangladeshi.

Follow Tuktuki for a tour of the Sisimpur set >>

Read about the Bangladesh co-production >>

Photographs and graphics provided courtesy of Sesame Workshop.
Sesame Street® and associated characters, trademarks and design elements are owned and licensed by Sesame Workshop. ©2006 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.

Top right group photograph provided courtesy of Nayantara Communications.