Maya (1966 film)

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Terry Bowen (Jay North) travels from the US to India to meet his father Hugh Bowen (Clint Walker) for the very first time. After a dispute with his father, Terry runs away and is befriended by Raji (Sajid Khan). Together, Terry and Raji have many adventures in the jungles of India. The cultural and religious differences between American Christian Terry and Indian Hindu Raji add to the conflicts in the plot, but together the two boys overcome their differences to survive and to deliver Maya (a sacred white elephant) and her calf to a faraway temple.

Cast

Comic book adaption

Television series

The story of Maya was adapted into a television series by producer King, which aired on NBC for the 1967–1968 season. Sajid Khan and Jay North returned to their film roles for the series, which comprised 18 episodes. The television adaptation introduced a revised backstory to the original film's plot. In the TV series, Terry Bowen, depicted slightly older than his film counterpart, travels to India intending to reconnect with his father. However, upon arrival, he discovers that his father is missing and is presumed to have been killed by a tiger. Facing deportation back to the United States, Terry escapes the authorities, and meets up by chance with orphaned runaway Raji and his pet elephant, Maya; and the two boys decide to team up to go in search of Terry's father, as Terry is hopeful his father is actually still alive. Over the course of the series the duo and the elephant continue their search while facing many side-plots, but never succeed in their quest in the episodes made during the series' short run.