Karan Vir: Will he?
From a high school dropout to a promising entrepreneur Karan Vir Aurora has definitely come a long way. But his journey is ‘yet to begin’. This lad in his late 20s is poised to add verve to Indian comics industry with his start-up: Vimanika. He’s audacious, challenging and smart. His ambition: To make Vimanika, within 5 years, ‘DC of India’. Will he live to his promise? Our New Delhi Correspondent finds out more.
When Uncle Pai, aka Anant Pai, started Amar Chitra Katha, to uphold the legacy of Indian ‘mythology’, many had doubted his ‘capacity’. But that he made his point is so true. But today’s generation finds it hard to find entertainment in them. ‘This generation’ says Karan Vir ‘finds that kind of art… boring.’ According to him ‘There is a need to add verve to it. Today’s generation needs thrill and action. They are demanding.’
True. But how does he plan to do that? ‘We have an impressive team to make it all happen’ says Karan to Folks – confidently, adding ‘While Kanika Chowdhary manages marketing, licensing and distribution in US, my wife Supriya, an artist herself, helps me to manage Indian operations. Other crucial members in our team are: Rich Young, Deepam Chatterjee and Sudha Kapoor.’
Last August Vimanika Edutainment released its two new comics ‘The Sixth’ and ‘Dashaavatar’, both priced at INR 40. His upcoming release Karna isn’t anything ‘less promising’.
‘Karna is first, truly Indian, reincarnated Superhero. He’s rich and he is passionate about humanity and its values.’ says Karan. ‘Now… please don’t compare him with Batman.’ he laughs.
Karan Vir is socially inclined towards environment and works with Green peace. No wonder he wishes to see his concerns in his comics too. ‘Moksha, yet another comic book, has a story of tiger in it with a message of tiger conservation.’ he passionately adds.
Obviously one point that would surely interest any monetarily concerned individual is about the investment. As per their official sources the investment is ‘hardly touching a crore.’ But they are on hunt for investment.
Karan Vir plans to make Vimanika the ‘Diamond Comics of India’ in less than 5 years. Besides he has strong plans to make his best selling comics into animation movies. Too much as it may seem, there is one reason why one would love to bet upon this lad’s idea: His comics are already in market and are already being compared with the best.
‘Besides being a 100% Indian company’ he passionately conveys, adding ‘we are perhaps the only one propounding the true Indian ethos. We have ensured that no vulgarities are brought in. Even with action we are specific and violence hardly exists.’
So where did Karan get this idea from? ‘When I was young’ he recalls, ‘my brother would tell me at least one bedtime story. He was amazing with his narration. At one point in time if he didn’t tell me a story I wouldn’t fall asleep! When I grew up I forgot a lot of my tender days amidst tension of trade. But his stories continued to fascinate me. And the Vimanika, I must say, is owing to my brother’s narration skills and my mother’s spiritual values.’
His idea doesn’t end here. ‘We plan to sell our comics, also, on mobile. What it means is you can dial a specific number and download to read our comics on your handset. The facility should be up and going in not more than six months time.’
To conclude it’s worth reading his take on life: ‘When you believe in yourself don’t hesitate to take daring decisions. Have patience for there will be times when you have to be mum… do not get discouraged… come what may… make sure you don’t tend to deter when people try to deject you. Hold your line, be bold… and work with an inspiration… from within!’
