Edutainment
An Interview with Mr Gulshan Rai, the man behind the massively popular Diamond Comics
Team ScooNews had the pleasure of getting an exclusive interview with him, here are the excerpts
In 1978, Gulshan Rai changed the entire Indian comic-book scenario when he started Diamond Comics. The comic characters created by Diamond Comics like Chacha Chaudhary, Billoo, Pinki, Motu Patlu, and many more went on to become household names and are still enjoyed by all age groups. Besides, the company also started publishing many foreign characters comics such as Phantom, Mandrake, He-man, Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and James Bond in Hindi.
Team ScooNews had the pleasure of getting an exclusive interview with him, here are the excerpts:
ScooNews: What did the comics lose to; computers or television or anything else?
Gulshan Rai: In 2003 due to electronic media, there was a lot of effect on entire print media but after 2007 the print began to revive and now due to social media the print media is having the same position as before and now the sale of comics is increasing day by day.
ScooNews: Do you see dwindling plots as one cause towards the comic world's downward trend?
Gulshan Rai: No
ScooNews: Do you see any hope that the void for superheroes left by Indian comics can be filled?
Gulshan Rai: Yes, positively. Now out of all the super heroes the selected characters are dominating in the print, electronic and digital media.
ScooNews: Who all can help fill the void?
Gulshan Rai: I assume Diamond Comics making all the efforts.
ScooNews: Can public and private schools be roped in to help in the act?
Gulshan Rai: Yes, as we are making educational comics in all fields and also making customised comics for different products based on our famous characters for promotion.
ScooNews: Why is it that foreign/ online comic heroes are highly popular in India while India's own have faded out?
Gulshan Rai: You are mistaken. Indian comics are having very good sales in the digital field whereas foreign comics are read by only one specific segment of people, but they have a worldwide market and Indian comics has only market in India, and also due to many languages it seems that the digital market of Indian comics is less.
ScooNews: Who in your opinion are top ten comic book heroes that India has produced?
Gulshan Rai: Chacha Chaudahry, Billoo, Pinki , Sabu, Rakka, Nagraj, Dhruv, Shaktimaan, Motu Patlu, Shrimatiji, Raman, Mahabali Shaka, Fauldisingh and many more.
This article was originally published in the May 2017 issue of ScooNews magazine. Subscribe to ScooNews Magazine today to have more such stories delivered to your desk every month.