In the eyes of his fellow characters, Shikari Shambu is a brave hunter. For generations of Tinkle readers, however, his appeal lay elsewhere. In his laziness, his cowardice, and the delicious irony that saw him stumble into heroism.
Dressed in his signature khaki shorts and shirt, hat pulled low across his eyes, Shambu remains one of the most enduring adventurers in Indian comics.
Behind the pages, the character has a dedicated guardian in Savio Mascarenhas, ace illustrator and group art director at Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle.
Shambu was originally created by Vasant Halbe. Savio took over in 1997. “The character has been the only constant in my life since 1997,” he says, taking a break from signing autographs at the recent Comic Con in Kochi.
“I have been drawing him for over 25 years. Shambu is very close to me now. After a point, one feels the character, including the movements and emotions.”
Savio adds that “deep inside” him, there is a comic artist who still struggles to draw Shambu. “I grew up seeing the original works by Mr Halbe. One fine day in 1997, Mr Pai (Anant Pai, founder of Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle) called me to his cabin and said ‘You have to draw Shambu from now on’, as Mr Halbe was retiring,” he recalls.
“I was young and had just started working in comics. I didn’t realise that the pressures of drawing such a well-known character would land on me at such an early stage of my career. I struggled initially. But I had the good fortune of working with legends such as Mr Halbe and Mr Waeerkar (Ram Waeerkar, creator of Suppandi).”
Savio says learning from them “meant a lot” and “the journey has been amazing”. Today, he commands a huge team of writers and illustrators under the Amar Chitra Katha group.
“I have witnessed how comics have evolved from the time I was a kid. Initially, they were all drawn, lettered and coloured by hand. I, too, followed the same process till 2000,” he recalls.
“After that came the digital art boom. The readership also changed. The newer generation wanted everything to be more vibrant, and artists started drawing digitally. With writers being exposed to a lot more different types of writing, even the way the stories were told and written has changed.”
He notes that the 2000s kids got wider exposure to animation.
“We realised that we have to keep ourselves updated. We started changing our storylines, the characters started getting more and more edgier,” he says.
“We also introduced a lot of new characters in Tinkle. Today, for example, we have a superhero from the northeast called ‘WingStar’ and a series called ‘SuperWeirdos’, which has a bunch of boys and girls with weird super powers. Today’s Tinkle is very different from what it was in the 80’s and 90’s. It is important to transition to stay relevant.”
For Savio, creativity demands vigilance. “I guess I stay very alert. As a creative artist you need to be attuned to the changes happening in the society,” he says. “Then, of course, practice is the enduring ‘trick’. This is a never-ending process for us.”
On shrinking attention spans and reading habits, Savio says the scenario is not drastic yet. “I do meet a lot of children who read. But yes, I feel digital content has been taking up a lot of their time,” he says.
“I try to spread awareness about reading, especially when I visit schools and talk to parents, teachers, and children. The attention span is something which is of concern. Parents, elders, teachers have a role to play in making children conscious about it. In the end, however, leave it to the children. They are actually smart, and can make a decision on what’s healthy for them.”
When asked whether he prefers digital tools or traditional methods, he is clear. “I would prefer paper and pen. I feel there is a strong connection between the artist and the paper. So I still create artworks in my sketchbooks,” he says.
And, what about AI? “Well, the question is how I could use it to help finish my work faster. I would not take an ‘all-AI way’ as comic books are a very personal thing. The writers, artists and readers involved are all human beings connected to a story,” he asserts.
“When the writer’s ideas come in, which is then transitioned by an artist and when the reader’s thought process helps form the story, it is a human chain for me. That cannot be replaced by AI. That said, AI-made comic books are coming out these days. But I believe there will be a phase when people say ‘I am fed up with AI’, as everything looks similar. AI cannot create artwork from scratch. Original art matters.”
True that. Think of an AI Shikari Shambu. Nah, no way!