I remember reading Chacha Chaudhary ever since my mother bought me my first comic book when I was 4. Even though I always knew comic books are drawn by human beings, but I didnt know much about the creators. Those were the good ol DD Days with Sunday evening movies, one Sunday I saw Dharmendras thriller Kab, Kyon Aur Kahaan on DD and got really scared of Prans eyes. It was way too scary for a four years old. Pran became synonymous with terror, my dad came up with this cute way of samjhao a kid, so rather than making me understand how films are made and how everything shown in a film is fake, he got me another Chacha Chaudhari comic book, and as I was reading it, he whispered in my ears - You know what, your favorite Chacha Chaudhari is drawn by a cartoonist and even his name is Pran...I dont know what effect that little piece of trivia had on me but I wasnt scared of Pran anymore, infact I used to imagine actor Pran drawing all Chacha Chaudhari comics after that day. Pran was the only cartoonist back then who used to have his biography published in every book that came out with his name, and that says a lot about his stature in Indian Comics. Being an avid comic book fan I used to read Chacha Chaudhary Comic Book from cover to cover (Which means I read - प्राण कुमार शर्मा, जिन्हें दुनिया कार्टूनिस्ट प्राण के नाम से जानती है, का जन्म 15 अगस्त, 1938 को कसूर नामक कस्बे में हुआ था, जो अब पाकिस्तान में है। almost every time I read a comic book). If I remember correctly we were planning to visit Delhi in 1989 and my father promised me that he will take me to meet Cartoonist Pran and I was more excited about that than anything else. The trip somehow got canceled and I had to wait for another 2 decades before I met the legend in 2009. Knowing about Pran also changed my way of looking at comic books because now I started looking for the artists names even before I read a comic book, something that helped me in following certain artists their drawing/writing style and choosing my favorite artists. I do that even today - I dont follow a character, I follow an artist/writer - because a mediocre artist can make your most favorite superheros stories mundane while a good artist/writer can make the most mundane characters look interesting, and when I thought of my first dream project, I wanted to tell the stories of these creators. Pran was an obvious first choice. I was lucky enough to meet and spend an entire day at his work space and he graciously treated us with the yummiest Masala Dosa and Lassi. His love for laughter, good food, his relationship with kids, I got to see everything firsthand and what I realized was in a lot of ways Chacha Chaudhary was an extension of Pran Sirs persona. His love for his work was unparalleled - While we shot the interview with him, the man kept drawing as he spoke and by the time we were done, he had drawn 2 pages of Raman to be sent to some News paper that weekend. I was amazed looking at his dedication and concentration, when I pointed that out, he looked straight at me and said, मुझे एक पेज और बनाना था, मगर आपसे बातें कर रहा था इसलिये वो पूरा नहीं हो पाया। Another thing that I can never forget is, when it came to get our comic-books autographed, Pran sir took some comics out of his vault and signed them for me and Neeshank, with personalized messages - प्रिय आलोक शर्मा के लिये and For Neeshank, but when I asked him to sign a Pinky comic for Neha, he wrote - प्रिय बेटी नेहा के लिये। Curiously I asked him why Neha is प्रिय बेटी while I am just प्रिय आलोक शर्मा, he smiled and said, बेटियाँ हमेशा बेटियाँ रहती हैं, तुम नहीं समझोगे। Goodbye Pran Sir! The Chacha Chaudhary you drew for me adorns my work-desk and reminds me everyday of you and your dedication towards your work. You were, are and always will be an inspiration.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 07:21:01 +0000
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