Ageless comic hero

As a little girl a typical day after school for Archana Waeerkar now Amberkar was to watch her father late Ram Waeerkar bring comic characters to life at their Kurla home The veteran illustrator of Amar Chitra Katha is best remembered for birthing Suppandi a village simpleton for TinkleCarrying her fathers legacy forward Amberkar is working at her home studio finetuning panels for Suppandis next escapade She took over drawing the genial character born in 1983 while she was still in her 20s While growing up I preferred reading comics to novels because they had less text Suppandi has fascinated me ever since I first spotted him on dads storyboard she recallsIn 1983 the Tinkle studio had received three stories from P Varadarajan in Tamil Nadu about a simple domestic help Amar Chitra Katha ACK and Tinkles creator Anant Pai aka Uncle Pai gave his nod to the idea and requested his trusted illustrator to create a series Dad told me that he had flattened Suppandis head because he was supposed to have no brainsRam Waeerkar at work in his home studio He was behind the art work for nearly 90 ACK titles He also created Pyarelal The Dumbbells and Nasruddin Hodja for TinkleWhen Amberkar took over the reins she knew that was stepping into big shoes I didnt study at a prestigious art institution like the Sir JJ School of Art I attended the Ram Waeerkar Institute of Art she says in jest adding I was barely 25 Suppandi was my first cartoon Yet dad gave me the freedom to explore my own style he didnt interfere although he did keep a close watch laughs I was always mindful of the fact that Suppandi was my fathers creation My brother Sanjiv had also illustrated him for a bit so it was double the pressureTinkles editor back then Reena Puri remembers Waeerkar for his booming laugh and infectious energy He was a happy personality and that translated to his work Archana always maintained that it was more of her dads backing than her own talent that made her an artist He and Uncle Pai had an umbilical cordlike connect since he has been associated with us since day one says Puri now executive editor of ACKArchana Amberkar took over sketching the character from her fatherThe typical story sees Suppandi get himself into trouble In so many adventures he is lucky enough to find a new job despite being sacked from the previous one Because he is devoid of any cunning his innocence sees him through Amberkar says I call it the Suppandi logic Its his idea on lateral thinking where you take a thought and give it your spin and it actually works explains Rajani Thindiath executive editor Tinkle Amberkar has crafted for the characters avatars as well Little Suppandi based on a childs query in a letter about his younger self and Super Suppandi created by Savio Mascarenhas group art director Tinkle amp ACK who was a superhero who existed in the simpletons imaginationA recent adventure of Suppandi Image courtesy Tinkle comics magazine Copyright Amar Chitra Katha Pvt LtdWith time Suppandis character changed and he even took on the role of sailor and salesman living in the city sharing a flat with friends and hanging out at malls His evolution has kept him relevant for a digitallysavvy generation He appears in short animated clips on YouTube as well as special collections on Kindle and the Tinkle app Suppandis crazy brain teasers are one of the most popular skills on Alexa Suppandi says Preeti Vyas President amp COO Amar Chitra Katha Pvt LtdPreeti Vyas and Reena PuriYet the ageless hero remains Tinkles No 1 character Since 2015 their annual survey among the comics readers revealed that he was way ahead of the rest For the past 30 years Ive asked school kids the same question and they have the same answermdashSuppandi is our favourite echoes Puri She says Pai had the answer to why that was Uncle Pai always believed that because Suppandi makes mistakes children felt it was okay to make mistakesWe are curious how Waeerkar would have viewed his continued popularity He would have been happy to see Suppandis undisputed popularity Ive tried to retain his innocence and simplicity in every panelLog on to Suppandi and friendsYouTubeCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news