CULT FICTION. Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan graphic novel on the shelves

Now lovers of Kalki’s period fiction Ponniyin Selvan can read it in graphic novel form, released by Nila comics, in Tamil and English.

Sahitya Akedemi Awardee Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan based on Rajaraja Chola’s life and times is set in the 11th Century and was serialised in 1950s in the Tamil magazine Kalki . The five-volume novel has a cult following amongreaders across all age groups for more than 50 years.

The novel had inspired stage plays, several attempts at making it into a movie and even a television series.

The first volume of the graphic novel -- over a 100 volumes are planned -- which is currently available in Chennai, will be available in various languages in coming months. Ponnusamy Saravanaraja, Managing Director, Nila comics, says: “ book lovers will soon be able read the magnum opus in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi by February 2018 and Marathi and Bengali two months after that.”

One book will cost ₹145. There are 100 more books in the offing to cover the 2000 odd pages series in the next 2.5 years, Saravanaraja added.

“It started as a 2D animation film two years ago,” said Saravanaraja, who also runs visual effects servicing firm PSN Entertainment Private Limited. However the due to lack of funding, “the estimated cost for the movie is ₹24 crore, which we did not have”, the project fell through.

So we took a step back,” Saravanaraja said. “Even as a novel, Ponniyin Selvan is a visual treat. We wanted to choose a medium that will do justice to the novel and also use the work we didfor the movie. Only graphic novel fit the bill,” he added. It helped that the novel is nationalised. “We had to obtain copyright only for the art,” he added.

Saravanaraja said that there is a growing interest in Tamil comics and graphic novels that portray the culture and history of Tamils in recent times. Saravanaraja asks: “What better choice is there than Ponniyin Selvam that talks about the history of Cholas?”

So Nila Comics was formed to publish comics. “Comics will be released in instalments,” Saravanaraja said. First comic book, which comprises two chapters, was published last month and received a great response. “The 1000 books we printed sold out,” he said. Now the company is getting ready with another 5000 books to be distributed across Tamil Nadu and the second instalment will include third and fourth chapter will be released in December first week.

In addition the company is also focussing on pushing its E-book sales. “We think that E-books could be a huge hit overseas, especially in the US where there is significant Tamil Diaspora and also number of people using app and e-book readers,” he added.

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