Animated lives

Superhero comics are passé. Two new comic books — on the lives of former Tamil Nadu chief minister late J. Jayalalithaa and Telangana State chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao are soon going to hit the stands.

“People know them as political leaders, but not many know how they were as a student, and the life they lived while growing up. Jayalalithaa was not just good at her studies, she was also into extracurricular activities like music and dance. The comic talks about how well her mother took care of her and her brother, about the days when Jayalalithaa would miss her mom when she was away, her journey into the film industry and her foray into politics,” says Pradeep Jacob Nainan from Tooni Arks, the brainchild behind these comic books.

Images from the comic book on J. Jayalalithaa.

Pradeep earlier made animated videos highlighting the Telugu culture and heritage. He ventured into comic books only with Mr Rao’s life. “When I found out the sacrifices KCR made for the state, I wanted children to know about it. The book chronicles most of his life,  school, family, working as a Congress youth leader, entering the TD, being a part of the Telangana movement, till he became the first CM of Telangana,” he says.

As part of his research, Pradeep read extensively about the leaders and watched videos where they narrated anecdotes from their lives. “There was an instance when Jayalalithaa, as a kid, tied her mother’s sari to her wrist so she would know when her mom woke up to leave. But, when her mom noticed this, she asked her sister to drape the sari instead, without waking up young Jaya. Once she was up however, and found her mother gone, she was inconsolable,” says Pradeep, adding, “When I started reading about her, I got to know that she is a genius. She wanted to become a lawyer but had to enter the movie industry instead. Her charisma lured me and the story had to be told.”

Pradeep started working on the comic book on KCR in August 2014, but it was only launched earlier this year by KCR himself on his birthday. Elaborating on how KCR reacted to a comic book on him, Pradeep says, “I showed the book to his son K.T. Rama Rao, who informed me that his son (KCR’s grandson) Himanshu would launch the book. But KCR also launched it on his birthday, which was a private affair. I also got a call from his PA, telling me that KCR read the book and really liked it.”

The comic book on the life of KCR was launched by the chief minister on his birthday, and Pradeep is looking for the right distributor to print them.

He started working on the comic book based on Jayalalithaa late last year. “I wanted Jayalalithaa to have a look at the book, hoping that it would bring a smile to her face. But alas! That dream couldn’t be fulfilled,” rues Pradeep.

On why he picked Jayalalithaa after he was done with the book on KCR, Pradeep says, “I thought of Jayalalithaa, since she was a very powerful person in the South. I want Jayalalithaa to stay alive in people’s minds, that’s why I haven’t shown her demise in the book.”