Tintin spouts desi lingo

Tintin has burst into India's cultural stratosphere, says Saibal Chatterjee.

Always wanted to hear the loquacious Captain Archibald Haddock blabber away in your own language? Here's your chance. Grab a copy of the Hindi-language VCD or DVD of Adventures of Tintin. Or tune into a TV channel air a Bengali, Tamil or Malayalam version of one of the many animated comic strips created by the late Belgian artist-writer Georges Remi, popularly known simply as Herge.

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Yes, Tintin has burst into India's cultural stratosphere thanks to the collaborative efforts of the French embassy in New Delhi, rights holders Star Entertainment and video distributors Shethia Audio Video Limited.

Indian language versions of the ever-popular 'Adventures of Tintin' have been on air for a while now. The animated tales of Tintin are available in English on Zee Café, in Hindi on Zee TV, in Tamil on Doordarshan, and in Malayalam on Asianet.

And now, these riveting comic strip adventures of an intrepid Belgian boy detective battling gangsters and smugglers in the most exotic corners of the globe are available off the shelf as well.

"Tintin has a huge following in India," asserts Jiten Hemdev, managing director of Star Entertainment. The Mumbai-based film and television distribution company holds the sole and exclusive rights of the Tintin series in India.

Says Hemdev: "Tintin works because he is a universally known and loved character. Had we brought in an unknown animated TV show, it might not have clicked," he explains.

On offer on television and home video are as many as 14 of the finest 'Adventures of Tintin' titles, including Red Rackham's Treasure, The Red Sea Sharks, The Land of Black Gold and The Cigars of the Pharaoh. That represents a welcome break from Hollywood's hegemony over Indian mindspace.

Says Mohamed Bendjebbour, audiovisual attaché of the French embassy in New Delhi: "We are committed to funding efforts to popularise French-language films and TV shows."

The Tintin venture in India, adds the diplomat, is an offshoot of a scheme under which the embassy supports showbiz entrepreneurs who want to invest in the import of French software.

The dubbing of the Tintin videos in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali has been part funded by the French embassy. "We will also participate actively in the exercise to market Tintin in India," says Bendjebbour.

Acknowledging the support of the French embassy, Hemdev says: "All this would not have been possible without them. They help us source films and TV shows, get in touch with production houses and set the negotiations in motion."

According to Hemdev, Tintin VCDs in English have already sold 1.5 lakh copies in India in under a year. Star Entertainment, in collaboration with Shethia's Gipsy Videos, has now released one lakh VCDs of the same Tintin adventures in Hindi.

Gipsy Audio Video Ltd has also released 25,000 Tintin DVDs. While the Hindi VCDs are priced at Rs 75 each, the DVDs will cost Rs 299. "The DVDs might seem a bit expensive, but they are value for money," says Hemdev.

He points out that each DVD contains two films with dual language tracks in English and Hindi. "That means you get four films for the price of one. A VCD on the other hand has only one film and a single language option," he adds.

"Tintin has moved really well in English. The market for Tintin may still primarily be in the big cities, but we have reason to believe that the Hindi version too will go down well," Hemdev asserts.

He is right. No matter where they have been launched, the Tintin books and videos have never failed to make an impact. The 24 comic books created by Herge have globally sold upwards of 200 million copies in more than 50 languages.

Hollywood has had its eyes on Tintin for close to a quarter century. Steven Spielberg, no less, owns the rights to a trilogy of live-action Tintin films. The idea has been on the drawing board since the early 1980s. But according to reports emanating from Hollywood, the Tintin trilogy, dormant for long, is finally moving ahead.

Tintin's landing in India, in his original Belgian avatar but speaking a desi lingo, could not have been better timed.