Diamond Comics to launch a TV channel to promote their characters like Chacha Chaudhary, Billu and Pinki
In the crowd of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Spongebob, our very own Chacha Chaudhary, Billu, Pinki and others have been relegated to oblivion. Now, to give momentum to the long-lost popularity of these characters, Diamond Comics is launching a channel.
Diamond Comics created these characters over the years which always focused on simple Indian values coupled with a smart wit.
Gulshan Rai, Managing Director of Diamond Comics, says, “The channel will be launched in January 2010. In terms of investments, the initial money that has been pumped in is Rs300 crore. We will add more as and when required. This is a joint venture, but I won’t be able to mention my partner’s name since the paperwork is yet to be completed.”
Besides their popular characters like Chacha Chaudhary, the channel will also create content on Indian religion, history and culture. “The channel will be a mix of animation and live action shows, so that it caters to varied audiences like teens and pre-teens,” he adds.
With globally popular channels like Cartoon Network, Pogo, Disney and Nickelodeon already in the picture, how different will this channel be? “All these channels rely on characters which are essentially foreign, but our channel is going to be different because we will be Indian to the core. Be it folktales, traditions or simple humour, all the characters are going to bear a distinctive Indian stamp. We are going to have regional versions of the channel too.”
Media planners, however, are apprehensive of another entry into an already cluttered market. T Gangadhar, MD of Media Edge CIA, says, “I don’t know that much about the contents of the channel. The scene is already quite cluttered so it would be very difficult to breakthrough unless you have very compelling content. Another important point is that the current generation is not so familiar with Diamond Comics’ characters. But for example if you look at the currently popular characters, it’s not so much about drawing from the past but being relevant in the present.”
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