“The actual battle occurs between one’s ears. Within the thoughts. You must battle your personal feelings earlier than preventing the enemy.” This could possibly be Mahendra Singh Dhoni chatting with himself whereas orchestrating one other medical run-chase or manoeuvring the sector from behind the wicket or considering whether or not he ought to take a overview underneath determined circumstances.
Nicely, that is certainly Dhoni. The one distinction: This time he’s not on the cricket discipline however on the pages of Atharva: The Origin, the graphic novel that includes him because the lead character. Set on a really younger earth, it tells the story of a warrior who makes a troublesome and lonely journey.
Dr Rajeev Tamhankar, inventive head, Pratilipi
Pratilipi Comics not too long ago acquired the rights to the novel — written by Ramesh Thamilmani — from Virzu Studios and recreated it with new character designs, art work, and artistic parts. It’s now obtainable in an episodic format on Pratilipi Comics’s cellular utility. Already among the many largest and fastest-growing digital comedian storytelling platforms in India, Pratilipi Comics intends to revolutionise the web comedian house with Atharva.
Dr Rajeev Tamhankar, inventive head, Pratilipi, spoke to indianexpress.com in an e-mail interplay concerning the novel, the Indian comedian trade normally, and the way the digital revolution aids its progress.
Q. What made Pratilipi recreate Atharva: The Origin?
Dr Rajeev Tamhankar: Atharva: The Origin has a singular and thrilling storyline. MS Dhoni’s character (Atharva) has nice depth that resonates with the viewers. Every of his adventures is an exhilarating episode of Atharva’s journey that takes audiences to unimaginable realities whereas leaving them with an essential self-discovery lesson with the escapade. That being stated, the recreation was only a medium to assist us deliver extra detailed tales of Atharva’s adventures to our readers.
Q. What can the readers count on from the graphic novel? Since Dhoni is the lead character, does it have any hyperlink to cricket?
Dr Tamhankar: No. The Atharva comedian is just not associated to cricket. However it is going to provide the readers a singular expertise because it showcases the journey of a warrior who units out on a revenge mission however finally ends up discovering the secrets and techniques of life and, most significantly, discovers his personal self.
Nicely, that is certainly Dhoni. The one distinction: This time he’s not on the cricket discipline however on the pages of Atharva: The Origin, the graphic novel that includes him because the lead character.
Q. What was the response of the unique creator of Atharva, Ramesh Thamilmani, to Pratilipi’s recreation of his story?
Dr Tamhankar: Ramesh was thrilled and he cherished that the story was going past the initially deliberate graphic novel format and would characteristic an episodic expertise which provides much more freedom to current a lot extra on the backstories, the adventures in depth that weren’t attainable as a result of restricted house on a graphic novel.
Q. Speaking concerning the bigger image, what’s your view of the Indian comedian trade?
Dr Tamhankar: The Indian comedian trade is roughly a $150 million trade transferring extra in the direction of the digital format. Additionally, the trade is seeing a transition to mature audiences as nicely. Comics are not restricted to children. At Pratilipi, we see that folks between 18 and 35 years of age represent the biggest section of our viewers.
Already among the many largest and fastest-growing digital comedian storytelling platforms in India, Pratilipi Comics intends to revolutionise the web comedian house with Atharva.
Q. What does digital disruption imply for the Indian comedian trade?
Dr Tamhankar: Digital disruption means larger distribution, democratic content material, and native narratives that may scale to world audiences.
Q. How do you view the Indian comedian trade within the metaverse?
Dr Tamhankar: The chances are immense. With non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital sprites, comedian characters are seeing a renewed curiosity amongst Net 3.0 fanatics. It gives the viewers the opportunity of proudly owning distinctive non-fungible artwork kinds that serve not solely as collectibles for followers but in addition as income streams for artists.
Atharva: The Origin
Q. How did the Covid pandemic have an effect on the comedian trade in India?
Dr Tamhankar: The Covid pandemic, in a approach, accelerated the shift of the already transitioning trade from print to digital house. This enabled a rise in genres, larger frequency of manufacturing, and ease of entry to readers.
Q. Is there a streaming revolution occurring within the Indian comedian trade?
Dr Tamhankar: The Indian comedian trade is evolving and within the subsequent two or three years, we may see an enormous push in the direction of the streaming of plenty of confirmed content material items. Pratilipi, by means of its webcomics app, is already main the best way and we count on a few of our greatest mental properties (IPs) to see a streaming revolution quickly.
Q. How do you propose to deliver extra ladies characters into the Indian comedian scene?
Dr Tamhankar: Sixty per cent of the favored content material on our comics app already has a feminine protagonist. PretBandh and Shaitani Rasmein are a few of our in style comics with sturdy, unbiased and sharp ladies characters.