US comic icons gain an Indian
flavor By Indrajit Basu
KOLKATA - For decades, kids and teenagers
in the United States (and in a few other parts of
world) have grown up reading about Archie, the
popular US comic-book character, chasing Veronica
and Betty, with his hamburger-crazy friend Jughead
passing smart-Alec comments at his escapades.
Soon, however, Archie may find himself chasing
these girls draped in saris and find Jughead
running after idlis and dosas
(popular Indian snacks) instead of hamburgers.
Come December or January, Archie and his
gang of iconic comic
characters, who have
"epitomized positive entertainment for kids and
teens" in the US and many parts of the world for
60 years, will no longer live in a purely North
American environment; they will be joined by Raj
Patel, a new kid of Indian descent, who is moving
into the small town of Riverdale with his
Indian-born parents. According to New York-based
publisher Archie Comics, Raj Patel will not be a
one-off character. He is here to stay, and "will
be assimilated in the group of Archie people just
like any other kind of kid".
"The reason
for this action [after 60 years] is that we
suddenly realized, quite lately, there is a very
large Indian population living in the US," said
Michael Silberkleit, chairman and publisher of
Archie Comic Publications, "and also because we
ship millions and million of comics to India. So
it is time now for your Indian readers to see an
ethnic-Indian character in the Archie group of
characters."
But Archie Comics is not the
only one. A slew of global media and entertainment
firms are rushing to include Indian content in
their product portfolios to grab the attention of
the fast-growing tribe of Indian audiences, which
according to industry sources is increasingly
emerging as one of the most influential market
segments today.
While Archie Comics has
decided to make Raj Patel and his family members
new permanent characters, Spider-Man became the
first Hollywood iconic superhero to speak Bhojpuri
- the most widely spoken Indian language after
Hindi, which is also spoken in parts of Nepal,
Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Mauritius.
Gotham Entertainment Group first
"reinvented" Spider-Man for India by introducing
in 2004 the dhoti-clad (dhoti is an
ethnic men's wear) Pavitr Prabhakar but failed to
make much of an impact. This May, the movie
Spider-Man 3 was released and turned out to
be the biggest grosser this season. The movie was
released in various local languages (Hindi,
Bhojpuri, Tamil and Telugu) and, along with its
English print, emerged as the biggest hit in the
first few weeks, even beating Bollywood (the Hindi
film industry) productions.
Recent deals
also include Disney's tie-up with Yash Raj Films,
US-Based Virgin Comics' (a joint venture between
Richard Branson of the UK's Virgin Group fame and
a few Indian partners) with India's Studio 18, and
Viacom's - a US-based media house - equal joint
venture with Global Broadcast News, a part of the
local TV18 group.
While Disney Corp says
its tie-up with India's largest production banner
will "create a series of original
computer-animated content for audiences in India
and around the world", Virgin Comics intends to
publish graphic novels and co-produce movies based
on new comic characters "for the local as well as
global markets". Viacom's plans are a little
India-focused in the sense that it says India is
its "priority market", but there will be content
for Internet platforms as well.
Driving
this sudden surge is a combination of factors, but
according to industry sources the most significant
one is the exploding demand for Indian content,
both locally and globally.
"While India's
buoyant economy and the roll-out of new
technologies have increased the demand for content
by leaps and bounds within the country, a flatter
world and the 30-million-strong Indian diaspora
have also helped generate a strong demand for
Indian content globally," said Karan Ahluwalia,
senior vice president and head of media and
entertainment for Yes Bank.
"But," said
Steven Herman, president of Archie Entertainment,
"India as a country too has changed dramatically.
Twenty-eight years ago when Archie struck its
first publishing deal in India, currency
restrictions and regulations made it very
difficult to market Archie products in India. But
today, that situation has changed."
Indeed, India's media regulations have
been revamped in a few key areas over the past two
years, which according to industry sources has
opened the Indian market wide for foreign media
companies. Under a policy announced in July 2005,
for instance, the foreign direct investment limit
in the non-news segment has been increased to
100%, which has allowed foreign publishers to
launch their product without the fear of a
dilution of copyright.
New laws also allow
a foreign publication to print facsimile editions
in India, which means content can be printed in
the country exactly as it appears in the foreign
market.
"The permission for facsimile
editions is significant because it is helping
foreign journals save on the cost of distribution
while servicing the Indian market and be able to
sell it a price that could sell more," said Smita
Jha, of PricewaterhouseCoopers. She said there was
always a big demand for foreign content in India
but it was stymied by high prices of imports.
The demand for Indian content,
particularly in the global markets, is also due to
the efforts of these new ventures, said Suresh
Seetharaman, president of Virgin Comics India.
Virgin, he claimed, has a "unique" business model
that is cashing in on the vault of powerful
content of Indian mythology "to enlighten the
world with the literature that the country has to
offer".
"Virgin's whole idea is to
showcase and create a platform for amazing
creative Indian talent and present it to the rest
of the world," he said. "So be it art, be it
stories, or be it inspiration, or whatever, is as
long as it is creative inspiration, Virgin Comics
will be committed to take it to the world."
Nevertheless, despite the fact that the
demand for content has bloated dramatically, which
has opened up a whole new market for foreign media
players, the country is still not an easy market,
say sources. "The biggest problem is that global
content cannot be dumped in India on an as-is,
where-is basis," said Jha.
She added that
as global companies expand their current
offerings, they will need to rely on value-chain
partners for many roles including technological
advancement, access to new distribution outlets,
protection of intellectual property, and so on.
That will require new partnerships, alliances and
joint ventures "as values can be gained from
collaborating and sharing strengths".
Moreover, according to Ahluwalia of Yes
Bank, since many companies are already crowding
the market and many more are expected join in, it
will be quality rather than quantity that is going
to be critical for success.
Meanwhile,
don't be surprised if you see a character slurping
on Chinese noodles in Archie Digests. While
the Indian character Raj Patel is the first Asian
to be included in the Archie community, he will be
followed shortly by a Chinese character, says the
publisher.
"I can't tell you the name [of
the Chinese character] or other details just yet,
but I can tell you that it is going to be a girl,"
said Michael Silberkleit. "A [Chinese] writer has
already been found, but the problem in China is
that not too many people read English. So we will
have to find a local publisher who will license
Archie from us to publish in China in the Chinese
language."
Indrajit Basu is a
Kolkata-based journalist.
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2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved.
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