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Spider-Man dons `dhoti'
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While Spidey hits theatres tomorrow, opinion is divided about comic books featuring Pavitr Prabhakar, the Indian version of Spider-Man, writes MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER
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WHILE THE world and his wife are discussing the arrival of Spider-Man 2 in theatres tomorrow, there is an equally fierce debate on the desi version of Spider-Man comics. Gotham Entertainment, the South Asian publishing licensee for Marvel and DC Comics as well as MAD comics, is publishing a four issue multi-lingual (Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi) mini series where Peter Parker of the original will morph into Pavitr Prabhakar.
Objections to the first ever "transcreation" range from the innate silliness of seeing a pop icon strutting around in a daft costume to the subliminal patronising tone of the enterprise. "Spider-Man in a dhoti would look really silly," says Andy a banker. "I am a purist and I like a thing best when it is how it should be. I would prefer something original like Bahadur (Remember him from Indrajal comics with his blue trousers and tie up orange shirt?) who had an identity of his own."
Studio Chief Jeevan J. Kang at work
Originality is something that Shyamsunder, a student at Bhavans would also prefer. "We are used to a certain image of Spidey and Pavitr might turn out to be a poor imitation or might turn out to be funny. Who knows?"
For those who feel Pavitr would dilute the purity (is that an irony or what?) of the comic strip, Sharad Devarajan, President & CEO, Gotham Entertainment Group says, "This project will only enhance the Spider-Man character in India. We think the core mythology of Spider-Man is very relevant to anyone in the world. He is a universal superhero that in many ways transcends cultures. However, this project offers a very unique way to really make an international hero also a local hero. One of the greatest aspects of people's identification with a character like Spider-Man is the fact that he lives in the real world versus a fictitious city. For Indian readers to see for the first time, this new version of Spider-Man bouncing off rickshaws and climbing local monuments like the Gateway of India will be great fun and hopefully bring in many new readers to experience this great character for the first time."
"We do not need `Indianising' popular icons," says Rajiv a software engineer. "We are pretty open to other cultures and so have no problem relating to Spider-Man in New York. It is the Americans who need everything americanised - so you have Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone being converted into Sorcerer's Stone!"
"And there is an element of stereotyping with India continuing to be a land of tantrics and snakes and what have you. It is not that we have not heard of radioactivity so what was the need to `Indianise' Pavitr's powers and make them a gift from a yogi? And his costume - I mean which urban Indian wanders about town in a dhoti and jooties?"
According to Devarajan, the first comic, "which is scheduled for release in India in the last week of August or the first week of September, does not yet have an official title but will deal with the origin story of the new desi Spider-Man."
The artwork by 25-year-old architect Jeevan Kang is impressive. Devarajan says, "after receiving the assignment, Jeevan has worked extensively with the rest of our team to develop the plot and scripts and he is taking on the entire pencilling, inking and colouring work."
The choice of Spider-Man to be the first transcreation is rather weird as Suresh a scientist comments, "MAD comics would have made more sense. I was actually looking forward to Indian content once MAD began being published in India. Like can you imagine MAD Movie Satires of Hindi films?"
"The project came about through a number of dialogues my colleague Suresh Seetharaman (Gotham's co-founder and COO) and I had with Marvel, discussing ways to enhance our existing publishing program of American Marvel comics," says Devarajan. "We discussed a number of ideas including having the US version of Spider-Man make a trip to India in a comic series. However, the one that really excited us was the concept of reinventing the property specifically for India."
Since we first started Gotham, we have always dreamed of fully integrating a western superhero character into the Indian market in this revolutionary way. We have always believed that the superhero relates to a `universal psyche' already firmly established in India through centuries of mythological stories depicting epic heroes with supernatural abilities. This project is the true culmination of such a synthesis allowing us to interweave these mythological themes of India into Spider-Man's very origins and powers."
Devarajan is optimistic about the comic book's reception; "We have seen nothing but tremendous interest and curiosity for this project. We anticipate that it will resonate strongly with the today's generation of Indian teens and children who stand at the forefront of a new indo-western exchange of ideas."
While the movie has broken records everywhere and looks poised to do the same here, August end will decide the fate of Pavitr and company including Meera Jain (Mary Jane), Aunt Maya (May) Uncle Bheem (Ben) and the evil Rakshas (Green Goblin) Nalin Oberoi (Norman Osborne)!
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