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| Treasures for comics buffs: Now within reach. Picture by Pabitra Das |
For those who till now could only lust after the latest comic books brought in by “foreign” friends or cousins — be it the superheroes or funnies like MAD — can take a look around and see the local scene looking far brighter and better now. In the recent past, new titles from across popular labels such as DC and Marvel have been available at the neighbourhood newspaper and magazine shop every month, and often as soon as they are published abroad.
All thanks to a small company quietly working away in its offices in Bangalore. Gotham Comics, a US-based company, has done a little more than revolutionise the Indian comics market, offering affordable comic books without compromising on production quality.
This part of the world figures prominently on the Gotham map, accounting for around 28 per cent of its sales-pie. “The east, particularly Calcutta, has been a very strong market for us from the start and is growing constantly,” stresses Suresh Seetharaman, COO of Gotham Comics.
A fact that is corroborated by most shops stocking the titles in the city. “The superheroes and Scooby Doo sell the most and sales are really good,” said an official of Landmark. Functioning only through distributors for the moment, Gotham plans standalone shops in the city by August.
Having started out with only eight titles, Gotham now brings out 40 monthly titles, including regulars and specials ranging from the latest outings of superheroes like Batman, Superman and Spiderman to those based on Cartoon Network shows such as Scooby Doo and Dexter’s Laboratory. The specials were started in mid-2003 to appease readers not satisfied with the single issues.
All this, at a price that beats the imports by miles. The monthlies cost Rs 15 (the price having recently gone up from Rs 10) and the 200-page specials Rs 90, both at least one-fifth of the foreign editions.
“It all started in 1998 with an idea to bring the best comic content internationally available to the Indian, Far East and West Asia markets,” says Seetharaman. “We wanted to fill the void of good comic books that was there, other than a few imports of some old stocks.”
That resulted in the formation of the company with people including a former CEO of Time-Life, a former president of Warner Music, and a former creative director of J. Walter Thompson. Seetharaman himself has filled top positions in ad agencies, while CEO Sharad Devarajan has worked with MTV and DC Comics.
It took time for sales to pick up, but they’re soaring now. Each month around 2.5 million units are sold, even as more titles are added. Apart from titles in English, the market is being tested for Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and other regional languages too.
Plans are afoot to bring in trade paperbacks and hard cover books later this year. Also, a tap into Indian mythology would see Gotham’s own team of writers and artists, currently being recruited, produce “world-class” content in the form of Indian epics.
— Subhajit Banerjee
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A hundred flashbulbs go off in a second, but there’s not a shade of shakiness in Kunnal Kapoor’s body language. Standing tall by his celebrated director Maqbool Fida Husain, co-star Tabu and cinematographer Santosh Sivan, the low-profile lanky debutant seems to have taken all the hype in his stride.
“Working for Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities was at times very interesting, at times scary and sometimes even frustrating,” smiles Kunnal (picture below). Having worked in a niche film like Meenaxi and being into several odd jobs “from stock-broking to exporting mangoes to Hong Kong”, the bearded actor is now waiting with bated breath for his next big break — in film-maker Rakesh Aks Mehra’s second venture.
Sharing screen space with him in Mehra’s story of four youths would be Aamir Khan, no less. While Atul Kulkarni will play the third man, the fourth is yet to be cast.
Script-reading with the Khan is on in full swing. “Aamir is very meticulous and passionate about his work. He is probing everything about the script in detail,” says the actor in his mid-20s, who got into the mechanics of film-making while assisting Mehra in Aks.
“I was eyeing the role I have been given for long, as Rakesh had written the script some three years ago and I was quite familiar with it. He was considering a whole lot of actors, but one day decided to screen test me. After a couple of tests, I bagged the role,” announces Kunnal.
Shooting for the yet-untitled film starts in September-end. But before hitting the floors, the actors will go through a month-long workshop.
Back in Mumbai, Kunnal has a string of stage shows to catch up with. After a six-month stint with Barry John’s troupe in Delhi, Kunnal is now performing with Naseeruddin Shah’s group. Lined up next week is a show of The Prophet, based on the Kahlil Gibran work. He is also rehearsing with Shah’s team for Manto Ismat, a play on Saadat Hasan Manto and Ismat Chugdai in Urdu. “You can imagine how difficult it is for a Punjabi boy to speak chaste Urdu. But I can manage, surely and steadily,” says Kunnal, who has also honed his acting skills with a course at the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting Academy.
— Reshmi Sengupta
After Delhi and Mumbai, it’s Calcutta’s turn to tune in to the Vienna Boys’ Choir. The double Grammy-winning choir founded in 1498 is on Indian soil after two-and-a-half decades. On Monday evening, the band of 23 boys will take over Kala Mandir in their famous sailor suits.
Led by conductor and music maestro Gerald Wirth, the Vienna Boys’ will perform a wide range of compositions from medieval to contemporary, spicing up the concert with qawwali, Marathi bhajan and African music.
The group of around 100 choristers, aged between 10 and 14, are split up in four touring choirs giving around 300 concerts and performances a year. Frequent hosts on their itinerary are almost all European countries, Asia, Australia and the US.
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| Danseuse Tanusree Shankar speaks to an artisan busy giving shape to his ware at Shoppers’ Stop on Friday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal |
A slice of the Hatibagan market has landed on the shop floor of one of the snazziest malls in town — Shoppers’ Stop. All in the spirit of the Bengali new year.
“Poila Baisakh ushers in hope for the coming year. We wanted to ring in the new year in that positive spirit,” said Somnath Sarkar, manager, operations, Shoppers’ Stop. The thought of a Bengali identity that could synergise with a shopping complex brought the mall authorities to hit upon Hatibagan. “It carries the essence of a Bengali market,” Sarkar said.
So from April 8 to 14, one can actually come across people sitting on madurs selling traditional ware, ranging from gamchha to haat pakha, amid the branded spread. The ambience can be felt right from the gates where a pair of mangal ghot has been placed. On Friday evening, the shop staff dressed in Bengali apparel greeted customers while danseuse Tanusree Shankar lighted the ceremonial lamp. Strains of Rabindrasangeet wafted in the air-conditioned atmosphere.
“Many youngsters are asking us what saankhaa and pola stand for. For them, it is an introduction to a culture they have lost touch with,” said Ashok Bhaumik who works in a sari shop in Beleghata and has brought over a range of taant sari. His immediate neighbour on the floor is the man selling saankha-pola, sindur and alta, marks of the married Bengali woman.
“It is nice to be reminded of Poila Baisakh which has all but disappeared from our lives,” said Shukla Banerjee, a resident of Patuli, while checking out the summer range of garments under the Escape theme that was launched on Friday.
