August 11, 2017: It was Pran Kumar Sharma, a popular cartoonist, who came up with the famous characters Chacha Chaudhury and Sabu.
Born on 15th August 1938 in part of India that is now called Pakistan, Pran began his career as a cartoonist in 1960. His first cartoon was published in a Delhi based Newspaper called Milaap at a time when western comics dominated the Indian reader market.
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But by creating these Indian comic characters, Pran revolutionized Indian comics. Chacha Chaudhury was first sketched for a newspaper called "Lot-Pot".
Instantly, Chacha Chaudhury and his counterpart Sabu became common household names. Pran, thus, wrote his name as India's most successful comic artist.
Chacha Chaudhary stories in Hindi:
It is often said that Pran wanted to design something different from common comic characters in western societies, such as Batman and Superman. The legendary cartoonist wanted to draw a character that represented India and looked Indian. With this thought, his hands drew a short and bald old man.
Chacha Chaudhury was born, and the rest is history.
Filled with comedy and stories of morals, Chacha Chaudhury went on to become India's best selling comic.
Kids, as well as adults, became fond of Pran's creation. Other famous characters by the legend include Raman, Billoo, Shrimati Ji and others.
Pran Kumar Sharma died of colon cancer at a hospital in Gurgaon on August 6, 2014. He was 75.
In the year 1995, the cartoonist was named in Limca Book of World Records. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Interestingly, Pran was called the Walt Disney of India in World Encyclopedia of Comics.
– Prepared by Saksham Narula of NewsGram. Twitter: @Saksham2394
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