Chacha Chaudhary is an iconic Indian comics series created by cartoonist Pran. In 2002, the comic took shape of a television series with Raghubir Yadav playing the lead role of Chacha Chaudhary. An animated television series by Toonz Animation followed in 2019.
Chacha Chaudhary was first introduced in 1971 by cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma in a comic created for the Hindi magazine Lotpot. The comic strips featuring Chacha Chaudhary had a common saying – “Chacha Chaudhary ka dimaag computer se bhi tez chalta hai,” which translates as Chacha Chaudhary’s brain works faster than a computer. The popularity of the series was the wit and wisdom of Chacha Chaudhary and the absence of extraordinary powers and super gadgets flaunted by other comic book characters from that era.
Chacha Chaudhary’s attire included his red turban, pocket watch, wooden stick and a waistcoat with a double inside pocket and the inspiration for his personality was the old wise man commonly found in every family across the country. Not only does Chacha Chaudhary fight thieves, roadside goons and corrupt government officials, he also teaches the common man moral lessons and good behavior.
Nikhil Pran, the son of cartoonist Pran, had a stand at Comic Con Delhi, held in December at NSIC grounds Okhla, where he promoted not only the comics but also merchandise and clothing based on the comic characters Chacha Chaudhary, his companion Sabu – a giant alien from Jupiter, and Rocket – a street dog often seen accompanying Chacha Chaudhary.
Chacha Chaudhary comics on display at Comic Con Delhi. Photo IPP“We are regularly participating in Comic Con. The atmosphere is great. Though we are currently selling our clothing and merchandise online, we have distributors all over India,” Nikhil Pran said.
Chacha Chaudhary comics, he said, are now being read in schools in five different languages – Hindi, English, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati. “Everyone loves Chacha Chaudhary and people love to have that dose of nostalgia while reading these comics. We don’t face any issues of piracy as we publish the comics and sell them directly. We are leaders in the comic book category on Amazon India. Whenever original Indian comics are mentioned, the first name that comes to mind is Chacha Chaudhary,” he said.
Nikhil said that he doesn’t face any competition from other characters such as Amar Chitra Katha’s Suppandi. Followers of a particular character always love their idiolized character be it Chacha Chaudhary or Supandi in the domestic market or Tintin, Archies or Asterix in the international market. “If you are a Superman fan, you’ll buy its comics, you’ll see its series, you’ll buy its merchandise and posters. It works similarly with Chacha Chaudhary,” he explained.
Chacha Chaudhary is very popular in the Hindi belt in Northern India, he said, adding Chachi Chaudhary comics enjoy a great readership in Bengali with a great fanbase in Bangladesh as well. NRIs love buying entire stacks of Chacha Chaudhary as they want their children to read what they had read in their growing-up years, he said.
The stand featured clothing items such as hoodies, sweatshirts and T-shirts and merchandise such as coffee mugs. “We will soon introduce Chacha Chaudhary-themed toys in the market as well. A Netflix series is also in the pipeline,” Nikhil Pran concluded.
