"Its time for me to rest now," said creator of Chacha Chaudhary, Pran Kumar Sharma
Aditi Gyanesh
Appearance of “Walt Disney of India”- Pran Kumar Sharma (creator of legendry comics like Chacha Chaudhary, Billoo, Pinki, Raman, etc.) at Comic Con 2013, delighted the fans at the fest. He shared his enthusiasm for comic creation in his last public appearance an interview.
Ques:1 You have set an example for comics’ creators and lovers from your exclusive works since generations. Tell us something about how you decided to go about choosing this career.
Ans: When I decided to go in field of creating comics I was not very sure about success. My parents didn’t support me. They wanted me to do something professional. So I started teaching in a school after completing my post-graduation from J.J. school of Arts, Bombay. I started creating comics in the 1960’s.At that time, Indian comics scenario was largely based on reprints of The Phantom and Superman and Amar Chitra Katha which was based on ancient Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. So, I thought of creating a character like Chacha Chaudhary, which could be the face of common man.
Ques 2: People say you always have stories for younger generation. Is there any specific reason behind it?
Ans: Comics are meant for children according to me. My cartoons are basically for younger generation because they talks about the small problems in common man’s life like pick pocketing, power failure etc. When I created my characters my motive was to give clean entertainment to younger generation. Most of the western comics have some objectionable content. I am not blaming them but parents’ complaint so.
Ques 3: What is the most striking feature of the society and your profession that motivates you to come up with new ideas?
Ans: The problems in life of common man have always seized my attention. All my comic characters are based on real life people there is nothing irrational about them, they are real people. Each family has its own wise old man who solves problems with common sense, but with a touch of humor like Chacha Chaudhary. Humor is the basis of all my cartoons. About profession I should say its addiction.
Ques 4: Is there any life experiences related to your stories?
Ans: As I mentioned all my characters are related to real life there are many such incidents that have always motivated me to build up my stories. I was born and brought up in Lahore, Pakistan. When I was just 9years old, I saw lot of bloodshed in country. Then we (along with family) all left Pakistan and settled here. Then I decided to make people smile always and do whatever they need to smile in their hard times.
Ques 5: Tell something about your characters other than Chacha Chaudhary?
Ans: Billoo and Raman are the other characters which are very close to my heart. By their presence in my comics I wanted to present an idea of unity and peace. Billoo is cricket fan in comics. He always has issues with his neighbours but when it comes to solve any critical problem he unites all of them. I wanted to convey the message of “United we stand, Divided we fall”.
Ques 6: When you stepped into world of comics, there were very less opportunities for the beginners, so how did you manage to go about it by creating your own characters?
Ans: There were many cartoonists in India at that time like R.K.Narayan, Mario and Shankar but all made political cartoons. I wanted to give the Indian audience our own Indian hero. The idea behind the character of ‘Chacha Chaudhary’ was to create a hero different from most other comic-book superheroes that is not a muscle man, nor does he have extraordinary powers but who uses his shrewd brain and presence-of-mind.
Ques 7: What role does digitization plays in comics’ world according to you?
Ans: I think it’s a good step to digitize comics as most of the world population have tablets and smart phones in their hand. Instead of being distress about their appearance in comics’ world one should combined with them to get the better results in future.
Ques 8: What would you like to suggest budding artists in your field today?
Ans: I just want to say that they all should work harder if they are devoted to this profession. Following any cartoon artists does not make any sense as to catch the reader’s attention they have to be original. They should have determination to entertain people as there is nothing more satisfying than entertaining people with one’s work. Its been 52 years, I still have the same working process as before, working for 6-8 hours a day, still trying to learn as I just want to live my life entertaining people.
Ques 9: How do you feel when people compare you to Walt Disney?
Ans: I feel obliged but I think I am nowhere comparable to him. He is god of comic world and I am just the part of that world.
Ques 10: So, are there any new characters you are planning for?
Ans: Right now, I would say ‘No’ because with the age it’s the time for me to have rest. I would like to give my best wishes to the budding artists to come up with new exciting characters to entertain people.
