This is real hot news!
Nine years on air (Sony TV) and still growing strong, C.I.D one of the most popular shows in the history of Indian television is all set to be launched in the comic book format in the country.
This development not only marks a move towards immortality for the C.I.D brand but also notches some big points for the comic book business in India which has of late been receiving a boost what with the recent entry of Virgin Comics and Illustrated Orchids and now CID.
Speaking exclusively to Animation Xpress.com, Fireworks Productions Chief BP Singh, the producer of C.I.D shared, “The idea of having our own comic books was conceived some time ago and we immeditaley began working on it. Our Business Head, Yash Patnaik was ready to take on new challenges and now within six months we are ready to roll”
“Research shows that over 80 % of comic book content, the world over, is about crime and larger than life heroes. From the Indian perspective which other show but CID, being a nine-year-old show that has made its niche in the psyche of Indian audiences, would be more apt to also turn into a comic book series?,” asked Fireworks Productions Business head Yash Patnaik who is responsible for nurturing the germ of an idea of CID comic books by Mr Singh into a reality.
“The moment we bounced the comic book idea with Sony Entertainment Television bosses, they instantly said yes and even promised on air promotion of the comics. With a brand like CID on air on Sony plus promotions we have a win-win situation” he added.
Our cast including Shivaji Satam, Aditya Shrivastav and Dayanand Shetty have given nine years of their lives to this show, all this without even a single contract or agreement on paper. Now with the comics, the cast and the characters they play are all set to get immortalized. Even two decades later children will read comics on the adventures of ACP Pradyuman and Daya and aspire to be like them” he further added.
Fireoworks productions shall produce and publish the comics, it is already in negotiations with leading Indian distributors. They plan to initially launch with 5 comic books with a new title being released every fortnight.
“More than 400 C.I.D episodes have been aired on Sony already, that means 400 stories for us. Besides this there are 3,500 additional ideas which never got made into episodes because they had scenes which were not practical to produce on a TV show budget for example Choppers and blasts etc, now all these can be converted into comics” shared Patnaik.
In their own words the publishers are targeting readers from “Saharanpur to Inorbit Mall. We want to reach out to all our viewers across the country” This has also led to a strategy which Fireworks is considering where it might produce two variants of the comic book, one standard and the other Gold.
On being asked about the production team for creating the comic books, Patnaik shared, “I have been scouting around for talent for a while now and have met artists from across the country. We are setting up quite a big team with Illustrators, BG Artists, layout artists, color artists, visualisers, writers, sub editors etc”
The positioning of the comic is going to be entertainment + information. To this effect the publisher plans to include elements like quizzes and brain teasers and the like which will make the products appeal high even for parents who would then encourage their children to pick the comic books.
“Once you buy a CID comic, you are not only buying entertainment, but also knowledge” concluded Patniak.
Stay tuned as Animation Xpress.com, into its third year of reliable service, keeps you updated on the latest in the field even as Indian entertainment moves towards an illustrious (pun intended) future!