The Hindu : New Delhi News : A new comic heroine to regale you now

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Saturday, Jun 14, 2008
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A new comic heroine to regale you now

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

New kid on the block: Amar Chitra Katha comes up with the country’s first indigenous adventure heroine Nina.

NEW DELHI: She is all of 12 and touted as the country’s first indigenous adventure heroine. Dressed in skinny jeans and a red sweatshirt, Nina with a backpack and a mischievous glint in her eyes is all set to compete with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys -- both popular fictional characters known for the sleuthing skills.

According to Nina’s creators, Amar Chitra Katha, comic book lovers can now look forward to action-packed adventure trips ensconced in the India of the 1950s and the 1960s with their new heroine.

Explaining the rationale for selecting the 1950s and the 1960s as the backdrop for the adventure series, Amar Chitra Katha vice-president (creative) Arjun Gupte, the creator of Nina, says: “That was the time of adventure and exploration. It was the time when most of modern India was formed by the hard work and ideals of the great post-Independence generation and I thought it would be interesting if Nina could meet our modern heroes like Vikram Sarabhai or Pandit Nehru or experience some of the historical events that were happening during that era.”

Like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Nina will be seen assisting her father in the series. “Nina helps her father in his map-making business and ventures into the remote areas of the country in the backdrop of the 1950s. Tween-life is, and should be, a magical time. Nina captures the exuberance and no-such-thing-as-impossible mood that defines the tweens,” says Mr. Gupte describing his heroine.

Referring to what inspired the birth of the Indian adventure heroine, Mr. Gupte says: “I grew up with Tintin and Moochwala and I really felt the need for a contemporary Indian hero. Nina came out of the same genre that we grew up with as kids.....Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tintin.....adventure which will let us travel and identify with the real India.”

The character, which took three months to shape up, has already found a fan following. The company which is credited to have shaped characters like Supandi and Shikari Shambu, says Nina’s adventures will be “kept simple”.

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