From time to time there have been characters created by Indian writers, cartoonists, authors and entertainers that have become a part of our collective social memory. These are names and characters that delight, make us nostalgic and send us off into enjoyable reminiscing. Check out this list of some the most beloved fictional Indian characters ever:
The Amul Girl
Created by Sylvester da Cunha and Eustace Fernandez, the Amul girl has always had a witty and perceptive take on current affairs and newsmakers of India over the years. She has been topical, current, funny and incisive about our achievements and our problems since she was created in the late 1960’s.
Chacha Chaudhary
Created by cartoonist Pran, Chacha Chaudhary, along with his sidekick, the giant Sabu was arguably one of the most beloved Indian comic characters ever. Whole generations grew up reading about the intelligent middle class Indian doling out advice for common problems. Later we saw Raghuvir Yadav playing his character in a TV serial of the same name, offering Chacha’s pearls of wisdom to a whole new generation.
Byomkesh Bakshy
This beloved fictional detective of Bengali literature actually dates back to the 1930’s. The Byonmkesh Bakshy stories continued to be published till the last one in 1970. Various TV and film adaptations of the movie have appeared from time to time in Bengali as well as Hindi, the latest being the feature film starring Sushant Singh Rajput.
Suppandi
He is the archetypal bumbling simpleton who by virtue of his taking things literally and being a bit of an ignoramus gets into all sorts of problematic situations; situations that typically cost him his job. Created in 1983, this Tinkle comic character is still a favourite with kids today who eagerly leaf through the latest issue of Tinkle to check out the latest Suppandi episode.
Krrish
We in India never had much in the way of Sci-Fi, much less any superheroes growing up (Shaktiman’s uniform was just too tacky for him to qualify I feel), so Bollywood decided to give us Krrish. He had it all: the costume, the mask, the desire and ability to save the planet from baddies and the girl as well! He could perform enough kickass stunts and had enough alien juice to become India’s first genuine celluloid superhero.
Then of course we have ACP Pradyuman from CID, Mr. India from, well, Mr. India and perhaps even the amazing Robin Hood-esque character of Chulbul Pandey…. Some more of our beloved characters from celluloid and TV. Can you think of any more?
