Any comic fan would tell you that Chacha Chaudhary’s brain works faster than a computer…and he can take decisions in a jiffy.

A craze in the 1970s, the comic series remain top priority for the readers even today. But the series, which was also published in Bengali, is difficult to source these days and the older comic books are selling at a premium.

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A joint venture between Antareep Comics and Pran’s Features is going to provide Bengali readers with the same experience as before.

Nikhil Pran, the second-generation inheritor of the famous cartoon legacy, was in Kolkata to launch ‘Samagrah (omnibus) 1 of Chacha Chaudhary, which is a hard-bound collection of 10 books with 72 stories.

The omnibus includes original comic series created by Pran, the legendary cartoonist, says Nikhil Pran, the son.

West Bengal is an important market for the comics as there are many comic book lovers in Bengal. Samagrah 1 has been pre-booked. “We are thinking of a second print already. Up next, we plan Samagrah 2 of Chacha Chaudhary and then Raka series post that,” said Nikhil Pran, whose company Pran’s Features has all the rights to the comic series.

The comic series has a pan-India presence and books are available in Marathi, Gujarati, apart from English, Hindi and Bengali.

Talking about his late father, a legend cartoonist, Nikhil says he used to love reading what his father wrote in the day and what he drew, after coming back from school. “I have seen my father, Pran ji, draw. He used to also contribute to Lotpot comics. After coming back from school, the first thing I did was to see what he drew and read his stories. During my summer vacations, he would also give me some of the cartoons for colouring,” said Nikhil.

The joint venture plans to come out with Sabu, Billu, Pinki, Srimati ji series in Bengali in future.

Saransh is the third generation inheritor, who is taking the work forward.

The owners now want to connect with today’s youth through mediums like toys, activity books, educational books. They also plan animation series and merchandise of these famous characters.

“We strongly feel that we need to adapt with the changing times and the use of technology will be part of the new stories. Chacha Chaudhary used to wear only dhoti-kurta and travel by bicycle. Now he wears pants and shirts. Likewise, in the stories also there is incorporation of subjects like cybercrime.

The publishers, who will be bringing out the comics in Bengali, are trying to cash in on the craze for the comic series in Bengal. Tanumoy Roy of Antareep Publication says the comic series used to come out in Bengali but for the last 10 years or so, it is not in circulation. There is a huge demand for Chacha Chaudhary comics and readers have to buy it from unofficial sources paying a huge premium. “A lot of these original works have been damaged or not in printable format. They needed to be restored, re-coloured and redrawn. We have translated afresh for the older comics to make them more interesting,” said Mr Roy.