Yali Dream Creations comics might still be garnering niche audiences but depending upon its cinematic future, they might soon be the face of the Indian comicverse, writes Shaurya Singh Thapa
In an age when Indian superhero and fantasy comics like Nagraj and the like are considered to be a thing of past,Yali Dream Creations, a Mumbai based publishing house is attempting to re-brand Indian graphic novels for a global audience. Even the company’s logo is as Indian as it gets. Its logo and name are derived from the Hindu mythological character that is part lion and part elephant. A popular motif in ancient temple art, the creature was re-branded for Yali which came into existence in 2012. It was then, Indian-American IT professional, Asvin Srivatsangam joined forces with comic writer Shamik Dasgupta, who is the now Chief Creative Officer, to start Yali. The latter had already built his reputation in Indian comics as he had authored a modern sci-fi take on the Ramayana called Ramayana 3392 AD for Virgin Comics, among other works. “We have registered a production house named Yali Dream Works in Mumbai. This company is co-founded with Vivek Rangachari. This entity is supposed to facilitate conversion of our comics to motion screen adaptation,” says Srivatsangam, who is also the publisher at the moment but is looking for someone capable enough for the job.
The first collaboration between the two founders was a horror-fantasy called The Caravan. The graphic novel borrowed influences from cult horror flicks like From Dusk Till Dawn but Dasgupta’s story and Bikash Satpathy’s art also displayed elements from B-grade Indian horror films. Hence, Yali’s first work came to be viewed as an edgy take on Indian horror tropes. The Caravan was released at the Bangalore Comic Con and became one of Yali’s most popular titles.
Once they had established the brand with The Caravan, Yali’s next major project was an adaptation of Devi Choudrani, a popular Bengali novel by the legendary Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. In the years to follow, Yali’s titles began to be promoted at more Comic Cons across the country and they subsequently started distributing to foreign markets as well.
Hindi and Bengali translations of their comics have already been published, and translations of Yali comics in other languages are also underway. For instance, Vibhav Pandey, a translator for the company was involved in the Hindi translations of The Caravan. Although Pandey had never dabbled in comics before, it was his Hindi language skills on Facebook which got him the job.
Apart from The Caravan and its various spin-offs, Shamik Dasgupta went on to author a series called Rakshak which can be described as India’s answer to The Punisher or Batman. The central character is a retired army officer who decides to don the robes of a masked vigilante in the city of Delhi. Rakshak was released in 2016 and became an instant hit, adding to Yali’s rising influence in India’s graphic novel scene.
But despite India having its comic book history etched in bright, kid-friendly classics by Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, and Diamond Comics (Chacha Chaudhary), Yali’s works are a little on the dark and brooding side. Dasgupta’s stories don’t shy away from violence and profanity to present a gritty picture of India. Some like The Village dabble in hardened social truths too. The graphic novel revolves around a dystopian India that has made great strides in science and technology but still suffers from the evils of casteism.
“Older more established publishing houses are not too interested in creating original stories and they mostly concentrate on the children’s market. The entire young adult section and especially adults who grew up in ‘80s and ‘90s and were the brightest consumers of comic books largely remain neglected,” says Shamik Dasgupta.
This is where Yali steps in. The publishing house’s mature content is receiving nothing but praise. Dasgupta says that, thankfully the company has not faced any controversy for its bold themes. “We are trying to tell stories in YDC which will appeal to an older demographic and hence our content might be called edgy and we champion that cause. People have appreciated our content for what it is, we are not wearing kid gloves, and we are trying to make stories for a generation who are watching and reading real-world content. People are appreciating it for what it is.’
With three major titles and series under its belt, Yali Dream Creations is in full swing to create more original work. Dasgupta is currently working on three graphic novels this year. There’s Crackdown, the highly anticipated follow-up to Rakshak which is expected to drop by this Diwali. Two other upcoming titles include The Hunt and Scion of the Cursed Kings. The former, as Dasgupta explains, will be “a homage to 80s slasher horror with a supernatural angle”, while the latter will “blend Indian mythology with steampunk sci-fi.”
Commenting on the publishing house’s work structure, Srivatsangam says, “Shamik has been a regular with Yali but we are also collaborating with other talented writers like Ashok Rajagopalan and Vibha Batra for future projects. All of our artists are currently freelancers. A young talent and an exciting named, Abhilash Panda, is one of the few exclusive comic book artists we have. Ayush Kumar Jha does all the social media related work for us.”
A successful graphic comics brand in today’s time must transcend into movie deals and Yali is no different. Rakshak’s origin story was picked up by director Sanjay Gupta for an action thriller, at the latest edition of the Delhi Comic-Con. Yali Dream Works will co-produce Rakshak with director Sanjay Gupta’s White Feather Entertainment. In addition, the company’s script developer Zach Zerries is working on ideas around The Village and The Caravan, to present them to film and streaming markets. If the plans come to fruition, Yali would create its own cinematic universes like Marvel and DC.
