Suppandi and gang go digital

Suppandi, Shambu and their gang of friends, the popular characters that have entertained Tinkle readers will be seen in an animated avatar on Youtube soon

HYDERABAD: One drowns in waves of nostalgia , as one reminisces on the antics of the wile and witty Suppandi and his friends in Tinkle.

The antics that have entertained three generations of readers are now all set to take on an audio-visual form in Youtube, thanks to efforts by the Amar Chitra Katha team to commemorate

Uncle Pai's 86th anniversary.

Speaking to

MetroPlus, the team downplays the added challenge to not lose the humour and wit quotient. Neel Paul, the creative director of Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd says, “We always felt that our characters are primed to be converted into animation. This is because Tinkle has inherited stories and characters that are timeless and have spoken to generations of kids - and by extension, adults. So we concentrated on bringing the essence of Suppandi, Shambu and the Defective Detectives as we have known them for all these years. We believed in their universality and they proved us right.”

Wouldn’t the scope for posterity reduce with Youtube as a medium when compared to CD' or DVDs? Neel defends the choice, “YouTube allows us a platform that can be dynamic, interactive and immediate - something no other medium, be it CD, DVD or even television can. Having taken a decision to think digital, we never looked back.”

Revamping a comic to another form, is synonymous with more homework, be it for the voices, appearances and the background score. It took Amar Chtra Katha weeks to finalise the casting, music and mixing. They in fact took inputs from certain readers as well. Suresh Sonawane, leading the animation team adds that Suppandi being a comic-book character provided a good headstart. “With movement and mannerisms, we invented a fair amount, such as Suppandi's wink and click or the peculiar movement of Shambu's moustache. It did involve a lot of concentrated work and hours of experimentation. But having said that, these characters have a very strong legacy and have mannerisms that were set long before our animation work began,” he adds.

Unlike the print medium, where they had enough time to develop a bond with readers, they are bound to encounter humungous competition , given the popularity of various other regionalised animated characters. So do they feel, the connect will be as instantaneous? “I say, why not. I hope our competition welcomes us in return. Our entire focus has been on building a quality product and putting it out there. These stories are such that if an adult has even the slightest hint of the child in her, they will lap it up,” Neel’s confidence shows.