The comics and graphic novels have been flourishing in India for decades but rarely do we see them reaching the mainstream audiences through movies and TV shows like Hollywood has been doing for years by turning their DC and Marvel comics into huge scale superhero projects. Apart from a television series based on the cult-classic comic book character Chacha Chaudhary, not a single Indian comic novel has been adapted for the screen to expand its reach. Several filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap planned the adaptations at some point but nothing materialised.
However, things seem to be changing now. Peepingmoon.com exclusively told you just a couple of days back that John Abraham will headline Sanjay Gupta's ambitious superhero project based on Shamik Dasgupta's comic novel, Rakshak. Now, Dasgupta's yet another comic novel is getting adapted. We have learned that his 2013 horror saga The Caravan which gives off a flavour of Ramsay Brothers' B-grade classic horror movies has been optioned for a multi-season web adaptation.
Shamik Dasgupta at Mumbai Comic Con 2015
Producer Vivek Rangachari of DAR Motion Pictures has bought the adaptation rights of The Caravan and will produce it along with Asvin Srivatsangam of Yali Dream Creations, the publishing company of the book. Having produced critically acclaimed films like D-Day, The Lunchbox, Monsoon Shootout, Photograph among others, Rangachari plans to foray into web space with this live-action adaptation. He's currently said to be in the process of setting up a deal with a leading OTT platform for the series.
A classic horror/action/adventure in the trend of From Dusk Till Dawn and 30 Days of Night copiously coated with spicy Bollywood masala, The Caravan will be the third graphic novel of Yali Dream Creations that's making the transition from bookstore to the movies and digital series. Founded in 2012 to create original stories to engage global audiences using comics and graphic novels varying different genres, the homegrown desi comic company has already sold Rakshak to Sanjay Gupta's production company for a feature film while it's also adapting The Village into a Tamil web-series, to be directed by Mani Ratnam's assistant.
