“I’m using our films to push Yomics” – Uday Chopra

By Devansh Patel -

August 21, 2012 - 2:05 AM IST

It's just not easy to convey to someone who doesn't read comic books about the passion that Uday Chopra posseses when it comes to giving the art form a life of its own. It was this very zest that gave birth to Yomics. The excitement to see how his personalized cabin would look like amazed me. I enter Chopra's domain. The room is immeasurable and the ceiling high. It's like walking into Asgard. All I was then looking for was Uday's hammer. The actor seemed to loom in the confined space. It is, however, an entirely affable, unthreatening sort of loom. I look around to find a few comic books kept on the far away shelf with his own Yomics venture. I gaze at a beautiful painting and then look further. 'No action hero figurines' for a guy who loves comic books? Ok, this is unreal. I expected an animated expression on Uday's face after asking him the above question. But in person, his expression is more mischievous than wild. In a career with more than its fair share of stormy periods, Uday Chopra has now produced his most passionate work so far - YOMICS. In one very concrete sense, it has changed his life. Part 1 of this very special interview with Uday Chopra on his plans to evoke the fondness for comic books, his future plans, that Western mentality, his first comic book that's still not launched and his dream to one day make a comic book out of his father's film.

“I’m using our films to push Yomics” – Uday Chopra

This isn't one of the many comic books based on movies to come out, is it? I mean, you want to take it further too I'm sure.

I plan to invest a certain amount of money in Yomics and make sure it sustains as a comic book in India. The plan as of now is to try it out till the end of 2013. We have a marketing team who will be looking after the next few titles we'll be launching in the month's soon. What Don, Ra.One, Agent Vinod, etc did with their comic books is that they launched them primarily to promote the film. Yomics will not only do that but take it further. We've just launched Dhoom comic book too. I'm using our films to push Yomics.

Would you like to see Yomics at the Comic-Con too?

I attended the Comic-Con last summer while I was in the U.S. I would love to take Yomics to the Comic-Con soon. It's a great platform. I will not be there in India this September but we will figure a way out to have some kind of presence at the India Comic-Con.

Why can't the famous Dhoom franchise have collector's edition action figures?

I know figurines / toys from Hollywood movies work great out there. I think the Dhoom series can really lend itself to the figurines in India, if we decide to launch. I am looking at Yomics as a separate venture all together. It's not a part of any merchandising. I don't know the final plan of Dhoom 3 marketing and merchandising but I will definitely look into the figurines and figure it out if we are going ahead and making them.

But do you think India's fascination for comic books has ended?

The biggest road-block as far as comic books are concerned in India is that we believe they are meant for the kids. That's exactly why the byline for Yomics - Not Just For Kids. If I can break that barrier to a certain extent, it'll be an achievement. I want to make it for the teenage audience, a fun thing and easier to read because it's engrossing and entertaining. It's a culture shift I know and it will happen slowly but surely.

And isn't it a costly affair?

In the West, the cost of any comic book is way higher than what you get in India. Let's put it this way - it's costly. When I first started trying to do this out here with my character Ali from Dhoom, the feedback I received in general was that the comic book industry is dead in India. Plus, no one will buy an expensive comic book. They even gave me the number of comic books sold of the comic books that were launched to promote movies in the recent past. It was horrific. Even the Amar Chitra Katha is printing the same content in a new packaging. Every passionate comic book lover is working with me to make the art form come alive for Yomics and it's the passion that'll take Yomics further by creating an audience for it.

The most necessary ingredient in any comic book is the story and the art-work. You think you can match up to the West?

The first book that I actually came out with was Dhoom - Another Story. We decided not to release it because when we did the second one, the artwork improved. So we decided to launch Dhoom - Redux 893 first and the first issue will be launched after the latter. Everytime we are doing the artwork we are making it even richer and more detailed. I think our learning curve is going to be very steep but I have this feeling that we will be able to reach quality wise where Marvel and DC are in a year or maybe earlier. I can easily get other artists by paying them more and quicken things up but the artists I am working with are very talented and all they need is more time to polish themselves.

What comic books did you grew up on?

I grew up on Richie Rich and Archie. Dennis the Menace is a huge favorite. He is not a comic book character but I love Dennis. I love Stewie Griffin too (laughs). He is super. I love him. Of course, I love the Iron Man from the new lot. I like Robert Downey Jr. Batman and Superman remain classics. I like the fact that Watchmen was one of the best selling comic books and was then made into a film by Zack Snyder. It's not as commercial as any super-hero film but it's a little bit off. It's niche in its own way.

This isn't the end of your dream is it?

(Laughs) Yes, there is still one dream left. My dream was to make a comic book out of my father's film. Everybody thinks that comic book will be the most romantic comic book ever. It's such a closely guarded script that I am thinking and telling Adi to help me write it with someone. So he hired a few associates and one of them happened to be a friend of ours who wants to get into direction. He has never written a comic book before. That's when I found out he is a big comic book fan. I hope it sees the light of the day someday.

Watch this space for Part 2 of Uday Chopra's and his Hollywood Productions