Chacha Chaudhury ka dimaag computer se bhi tej chalta hai is one of the most iconic statements in Indian comics penned by one of India’s greatest comic creators, Pran, creator of the legendary Chacha Chaudhury! There would be few Indians today who have not grown-up reading Chacha Chaudhary comics with the giant Sabu, Billoo and Pinki in tow.
Cartoonist Pran was one of the most recognised and popular writers in comic fiction in India, breezing in the concept of an intelligent man with sharp wit to Indian children as opposed to a diet of erstwhile foreign superheroes like ‘Phantom’ and ‘Mandrake’.
With over 400 published comic books and 200,000 drawings for his comics to his credit, Pran was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Comic-Con in Delhi this year. The World Encyclopedia of Comics has anointed him the Walt Disney of India earlierin 2014. He was also awarded the People of the Year Award by the Limca Book of Records in 1995 for his contribution to the Indian Comic Industry. Despite all these recognitions, Pran’s single biggest achievement is the love of his regular readers that he has earned.
Now Amazon.in pays tribute to this prolific comic writer and artists, with an exclusive tie-up with Diamond Toons to release five sets of his books in English, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati respectively. Each set will have nine comics of which three are unpublished so far featuring the inimitable Chacha Chaudhary, Pinki and Billoo. The unpublished titles will be featuring Chacha Chaudhary in Fake Currency, Billoo in Short Break and Pinki in Laptop. The books will be exclusively available on www.amamzon.in from 1 September, 2014. Amazon.in has already started pre-orders for these books from this week.
“The Chacha Chaudhary comic series has captured the imagination of Indian children for over 40 years. We recognise the immense popularity of Pran’s Chacha Chaudhary, Sabu, Billoo & Pinki with readers in India and we are very happy to bring Pran’s unpublished works for his fans as a small tribute his prolific work,” says Amazon India director category management Samir Kumar.
Over 40 years ago, when Pran created a simple elderly man with the brain as sharp as a needle and faster than a computer, for the Hindi children’s magazine Lotpot, little did he envisage the immense popularity that the character would go on to gather. With his characteristic humor-laden intelligence, Chacha Chaudhary is today one of the most well recognised comic characters across the country. Published in 10 languages, the comics featuring him and his young pals have captured the imagination of two generations of children and adults alike.
“We are very pleased that Amazon.in has agreed to partner with us on these landmark unpublished tittles of cartoonist Pran, the Walt Disney of India. With Amazon.in’s massive reach across India, we believe readers, especially from this generation can easily purchase Pran’s comics at the click of a button. We have been associated with Pran and Chacha Chaudhary since 1981, and theirreadership has constantly been on an increase, such is the power of the books,” says Diamond Group chairman NK Verma.
“He was a man of commitment, very simple and observant. He was always taking the ideas from the society and presents those ideas with humor. He dedicated his life to make people laugh. He had famously remarked ‘if my humor can bring smile on the faces of 8 to 80 yrs children, I have achieved my aim’. May his soul rest in peace,” says Pran’s Features, custodian of Pran’s comics.