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Pran Kumar Sharma: 7 things you must know about his world

Last updated on: August 06, 2014 10:00 IST
Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu

Thank you, Pran for the smiles!

Eminent cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma, better known as Pran, passed away into the ages today.

Creator of the immortal characters of Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu, Pran's creations were exclusively published by Diamond Comics starting 1981.

Here are seven things about Pran's world that you should know:

1. Chacha Chaudhary has been a 'chacha' since 1971

Pran created the immortal character for Lotpot, the popular Hindi magazine in 1969 (when the magazine started) but started getting published only a couple of years later.

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2. Daabu was his first comic strip

Last updated on: August 06, 2014 10:00 IST
Daabu was Pran's earliest characters appearing in the Delhi-based newspaper Milap.

Chacha Chaudhary may have made him famous but Daabu was his first comic strip.

It first appeared in the Delhi-based newspaper Milap.

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3. Before Pran there were these...

Last updated on: August 06, 2014 10:00 IST
Diamond Comics that eventually began publishing Pran's works primarily sold reprints and translated Western comics such as Phantom

Translated or reprints of western comics such as Phantom and Superman largely dominated the market.

In many ways, Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu were the first Indian superstars in the Indian comics scene.

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4. They even made it to TV!

Last updated on: August 06, 2014 10:00 IST
Raghubir Yadav brought Pran's Chacha Chaudhary alive on the small screen.

The talented Raghubir Yadav played Chacha Chaudhary!

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5. Akshay Kumar couldn't resist being part of his creations

Last updated on: August 06, 2014 10:00 IST
The special edition of Chacha Chaudhary's book to promote Akshay Kumar's movie Boss.

To promote his movie, Boss, Akshay Kumar made an appearance in a special edition Chacha Chaudhary comic.

Awesome or awesome!

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6. Then there was Shrimatiji

Last updated on: August 06, 2014 10:00 IST
The witty, thrifty Shrimatiji was a hit several female readers of the '70s.

Yet another character who was popular before the Chacha became a star was Shrimatiji.

The comic strips appeared first in the women's magazine Sarita and eventually moved on to Manorama.

Shrimatiji was your everyday wife who found unique ways to keep her household expenses in check.

In a pre-Liberalised India, she struck a chord.

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7. The everyday superhero

Last updated on: August 06, 2014 10:00 IST
Armed with just a walking stick and loads of wit, Pran's Chacha Chaudhary was your everyday superhero.

The parallels between Chacha Chaudhary and Asterix are undeniable.

Both are street smart, noble, have a sense of humour and a sidekick who is about five times their size and is slightly slow on the uptake.

But the similarities end there.

Pran says in an interview that the idea was to make Chacha Chaudhary's character relatable.

Unlike in the West, Pran's superhero wasn't a muscular, high-on-testosterone man flying, swinging or zipping past in a supercar.

He was an old man with a walking stick and a turban, resolving the problems of people around him.

Which is what made him so relatable... and popular!