| Chacha Chaudhary | |
|---|---|
 Chacha Chaudhary (bottom right corner) |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Diamond Comics |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Publication date | 1971 |
| Main character(s) | Chacha Chaudhary, Chachi, Sabu and Rocket |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Pran Kumar Sharma |
Chacha Chaudhary (Hindi: चाचा चौधरी) is a popular Indian comic book character, created by cartoonist Pran.[1] The comic comes in ten Indian languages including Hindi and English and has sold almost ten million copies. Chacha Chaudhary has also been made into a television series with Raghuvir Yadav playing Chacha.
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Contents
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History
Chacha Chaudhary was created in 1971 for the Hindi magazine Lotpot. It soon became popular among kids and the elderly alike.
According to a Diamond Comics Press Release the Indian kids in the age group 10–13 years ranked Chacha Chaudhary as their most recognizable comic book character.[2]
Chacha Chaudhary has also been featured as a guest in other Diamond Comics series, with Billoo and Pinki.
Biography
Chacha Chaudhary is a middle class Indian, frail but an extremely intelligent old man. The word chacha means paternal uncle in Hindi, while Chaudhary is a term used for big landlords or the most honorable, elderly or a respectable person in small villages or towns in india
Chacha Chaudhary's attire includes his red turban, a wooden stick, a waistcoat with a double inside pocket, and a pocket watch. His household consists of his wife Bini (Chachi), a faithful street dog called Rocket and a giant called Sabu.
Chacha Chaudhary enjoys eating watermelon with relish, and takes off for a walk with Sabu and Rocket, whenever Chachi nags him.
Characterization
Chacha Chaudhary is remarkably different from most other comic-book superheroes in that he is not a muscleman, nor does he have extraordinary powers. Instead, he uses his shrewd brain and presence-of-mind to fight off evil robbers and thieves. A brain sharper than a needle and faster than a super-computer,[3] state the comic books. Chacha Chaudhary does not have state of-the-art machine guns or modern technological gadgets to fight his enemies. All he possesses is a wooden stick with which he fights evil-doers and he does it convincingly.
Chacha's characterization, like other Pran's characters, is around middle class typical Indian metro surroundings of the 1970s and 1980s, and it has kept evolving. The usual villains are corrupt government officials, thieves, roadside goons and bullies, tricksters and cons and local thugs. Chacha Chaudhary not only fights them off and helps the common man but also teaches them moral lessons and good behavior. Most of the events end up with goons embarrassed of their deeds. One can see the middle class dealing with everyday's problems. In a way Pran takes a whip at those problems but still maintaining a happy go lucky feel with twinkling eyes and smiling faces.
Supporting characters
Sabu
Sabu is an alien from the planet Jupiter, always faithful to Chacha and provides the physical strength in time of need. He is huge and strong, about 15 feet tall. In some comics he is able to increase his size. He wears only a wrestler's kachha (briefs), a pair of ear-rings and a pair of gum-boots.
Sabu decided to stay at Earth with Chacha Chaudhary when he tasted delicious paratha and halwa made by Chachi during his visit to earth. Sabu has a twin brother called Dabu and the giant earrings that Sabu wears had been gifted to him by his mother when he left Jupiter. According to the comics, whenever Sabu gets angry, somewhere in Jupiter, a volcano erupts (this is stated in a small bracket in a corner). Whenever he performs an act of great strength, he utters the cry, "Hu-Huba!" Sabu eats 108 chapatis at one time, 12 kilos of halwa and about 20 litres of lassi in one meal. He is not married, and avoids the topic. Sabu also has a check book of some bank on jupiter. Sabu's biggest enemy is Raka who is also of the same size as that of sabu.
Bini Chachi
Chacha Chaudhary's wife Bini is a fat, dominating lady who is the boss of the house and occasionally battles the thieves with her belan (rolling pin). She is usually dressed in polka dotted sari and has a hair style matching 70s' style of Indian actresses. Although very kind hearted with all the attributes of a strict but caring wife, she often complains Chacha of not buying her gold bangles and she has to cook for Sabu although she serves as a mother figure for Sabu. In one comic she is shown with stirring a giant pot with a ladle for Sabu and serving him more affectionately than Chachaji.
Chhajju Chaudhary
A secret that many of the characters in the comics do not know is that Chacha Chaudhary has a twin brother named Chhajju Chaudhary, who is not as gifted as Chachaji. In many stories he proves to be the secret weapon to dodge the corrupts and goons. He was once taken to Mars by aliens mistaking him as Chacha Chaudhary.
Tingu Master
A short man with a moustache and a small beard, who occasionally shows up either with problems or as an accomplice to Chachaji's tricks. He is supposed to be Chacha's disciple. He does not appear to be Bini's brother, as is sometimes assumed. In one of the comics, he calls Bini, Chachi (Aunt). Bini has a brother called Tarboozi Das. Tingu Master and Chacha Chaudhary have a major taste for desi ghee binni made by Chachi. In the first comic that featured Tingu Master, he was kidnapped and taken to an island where he was saved from man-eating tribals.
Rocket (Raaket)
Rocket is Chacha Chaudhary's pet dog. He is rather well known as 'raaket'. The only characteristic of this dog is defined in the line "chacha choudary ka kutaa ssurrlup ssurrlup doodh peeta hai" (Chacha Choudhary's dog drinks milk) & the fact that he is the only vegetarian dog in the whole world.
Nemesis
Some nemesis of Chacha Chaudhary are Raaka (once a dacoit, but an immortal giant after drinking a magic potion made by Chakram Acharya), Gobar Singh (a dacoit), Dhamaka Singh, and his accomplice Paleeta and Ruldu.
Many a times Chacha Chaudhary has beaten Gobar Singh and forced him to shave off his moustache as a result of some competition which Chacha has won. Chacha's comic with Raaka Raaka ki waapsi', (The Return of Raaka) is one of the best selling comics of Diamond Comics. Apparently Raaka was put to sleep by some potion given by a saint from the Himalayas and buried in the ocean the first time. On his return by another potion he was reduced to a small size, closed in a bottle and buried in a grave. But this was not the end. He returned several times again to wreak havoc in the city. Finally Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu buried him in an endless hole somewhere near a rocket launch site.
Similarities with other characters
Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu are a double act. This is similar to Asterix and Obelix where Asterix is a little guy and Obelix is big and incredibly strong, but slightly slow on the uptake. There is some degree of similarity between Chacha Chaudhary and Asterix, wherein both do not have any extraordinary physical power and use their wits to get around situations. Sabu, on the other hand, does demonstrate that his tremendous muscle power is without the brains to apply it properly, analogous to Obelix. However, it cannot be said that there is any major similarity between the two comics, since Asterix has a common theme of outwitting the Romans, whereas Chacha Chaudhary is a very loosely-connected series, with common characters, but new settings and story lines. Moreover, Asterix and the Gauls do have a secret ingredient giving them physical superiority over the Romans, and there is no such analogue in Chacha Choudhary adventures.
Sabu's name bears resemblance to one-time Hollywood actor of Indian origin, Sabu Dastagir. The image of Rex Ingram from the movie, The Thief of Bagdad is strongly reminiscent of Sabu's character.
References
- ^ Pilcher, Tim; Brad Brooks (2005). The Essential Guide to World Comics. Collins & Brown. ISBN 978-1843403005. OCLC 61302672.
- ^ Lent, John A. (2001). Illustrating Asia: Comics, Humor Magazines, and Picture Books. University of Hawai'i Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0824824716. OCLC 45661703.
- ^ http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/c/chacha.htm
External links
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