Chacha Chaudhary, the iconic comic book character, is set to entertain children around the country. The comic book featuring Chacha Chaudhary and his sidekick Sabu is to be recreated as an animated series by the Toonz Media Group.
Chacha Chaudhary, a man whose brain is said to work faster than computers, was created by cartoonist and Padma Shari awardee late Pran Kumar Sharma 50 years ago.
Lapped up by generations of readers, it has the widest fan base of any comic book and is known as India’s Tintin.
Toonz CEO P. Jayakumar said when Toonz began they had signed a contract with Pran to develop Chacha Chaudhary into an animation series but conditions were not favourable for it then. Now, with local cartoons driving the viewership across the country, Toonz decided that Chacha Chaudhary, known for his intellect and wit, would be featured in their new series that would hit television screens next May.
“Chacha Chaudhary is a superhero who is very rooted in India. He’s an intellectual, unlike the fictional muscular superheroes seen today,” he said.
Brawn in the book
In fact, it is Sabu, the man from Jupiter, who provides the brawn in the book. The challenge, Mr. Jayakumar said, was to contemporarise it and make it relevant to the modern times in terms of stories and design. The series would have 26 episodes of 22 minutes each.
Toonz signed an agreement with Nikhil Pran, CEO of Pran’s Features. The development of the series had been completed, and production was on. Talks were on with broadcasters and over-the-top platforms too had evinced interest, he said.
Toonz would be the worldwide distribution company of the Chacha Chaudhary series.
Merchandising
The Mumbai-based Zamoza Brands would handle the licensing and merchandising rights, and Chacha Chaudhary would be seen in apparel, schoolbags, stationery and so on soon.
The series would predominantly be for India and the Indian diaspora, he said, and the thrust on local content would ensure a market share for it.
“Animation has no boundaries; it transcends everything. We will continue to cater to a new group of audience every few years,” Mr. Jayakumar said.
Depending on the broadcaster, it might be in four languages at least, and a Malayalam version would too would be there, he said.
