Gotham Chopra has been an international anchor for Channel One News, story editor for the Bulletproof Monk, lyrical advisor for Michael Jackson on Dangerous and History. He is the co-founder of Chopra Media, along with his father, the author Deepak Chopra, and partner in the successful IntentBlog network. He is also creative consultant with Current TV, the grassroots television station conceived by Al Gore. Most recently, Gotham has formed a joint venture with film director Shekhar Kapur and Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Comics, to produce comic books under the brand name, Virgin Comics, what could potentially be the Pixar of India.
1. The Indian comics market is nowhere as mature as that in the United States. Further, earlier comics ventures have not had as much success as one might expect. What's different about Virgin Comics? Apart from the big names and creative talent, what is the key factor?
Our goal from day one has not been just to build a comic book or publishing company but a media and entertainment company that uses comics as the vehicle to create powerful properties that we can spin off into a variety of ancillary media opportunities. While the Indian comic market may not be fully matured or developed (mostly because of distribution) we do think it is a very dynamic and evolving one. It is also an innovative market in general as it related to entertainment and consumption of it. The digital and mobile evolution of India is staggering and something that we definitely plan to focus. All that said, ultimately what we hope will define us and our success will be the quality of our stories and characters. And that's an area that is a tremendous priority for us, insuring that we are churning out stories that people love.
2. Current TV is perhaps the future of Television, in one sense. Are there plans to launch it in South Asia, and do you think it would work?
The international market in general is definitely a priority for Current's expansion. As mentioned before, I think India and South Asia is a very vibrant and innovative marketplace when it comes to media and entertainment and enormously fertile in my opinion for the type of creativity that Current fosters. I think in India, however, you really have to be working with the right credible partner to be successful. And that takes some careful consideration and patience.
3. What are your perceptions of the moves towards openness in South Asia? How can the Internet and sites like IntentBlog, Desicritics, etc. help foster this openness?
Blogs, digital cameras, laptop computers, and other innovations have really opened up the medium of expression and creativity and enabled a degree of media democratization. But democracy - even opening up the media - requires patience and practice so i think experiments like intentblog, desicritics, and others are all very essential in empowering the everyday voice and creator to get involved and part of the process.
4. Series like X-Men, etc., and the whole superhero mythos were successful in part because of the individualism of the American mindset, and American exceptionalism. How would this translate to the Indian ethos?
When I look at the superheroes that defined American culture, I see a man vs. science themology: Spiderman getting his powers from a radio-active spider, the incredible Hulk getting his powers via a nuclear accident. Japan brought us the man vs. machine themology with stories like Godzilla and the birth of robotics gone awry. I think when we look at the Indian/Asian themology, we see a man vs. mythology themology. Whereas in the west, heroes often charted out their own destinies, our cultural stories often find heroes dealing with issues of their fate, challenging it or alternatively facing it. This is increasingly a narrative structure that I think is resonating even in the west. When we look at some of the most popular stories and films of the last few years, The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, we see those sensibilities.
Article comments
1 - Susan Caffery
Seven full adventure books written about a girl-child avatar who takes birth in Bangalore to fight the dark forces killed in heavenly war now living in Bangalore. Firat book written as script for animation. Bala Devi Sharma could be an icon for Indian children and there are enough adventures to last years and years as aanimation series. This is a free download but...is anything really free? The fifty artists you have working in Virgin Comics Bangalore studios could spend the rest of their lives doing Bala Devi Avatar. Is it a co-incidence that these books and the script are available just when your Virgin Comics is ready to manifest Bala?