New on the radar — life and times of Daku Gabbar Singh as a comic character. There is something special about the film and its characters that makes everyone want to do something around it. It’s a homage to the film by many artists says, SANGEETA YADAV

He was no genius, no master tactician. He never even went to school. But once he had decided to do something, he would do it or the world would end and he would do it right

— Gabbar, (as he has been described in the Gabbar comic book in collaboration with Graphic India and Sholay Media and Entertainment)

Readers will get to experience Gabbar’s past and witness the never seen tragic and twisted story of revenge and redemption that turned an ordinary boy into India’s most famous and feared villain! It starts with Gabbar’s life as a child and shows the events that led him to start his journey as a legendary evil,” Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Graphic India, says.

According to Sascha Sippy, nephew of Ramesh Sippy who had produced the iconic Sholay in 1975, this has always been his biggest dream to explore the life of Gabbar from a comic perspective.

“There couldn’t have been a better theme for a comic book than the life of Gabbar and how he turned from a smart child to a dacoit. In the realm of cinema, Gabbar was the most villainous character till date. He is still alive in the minds of the people. But I wanted the present generation to know all about him. We decided to give wings to their imaginative world so that they can also predict and cook stories about Gabbar’s life. That’s how this was born,” Sascha says.

His first choice was always a book rather than making a sequel to the blockbuster because he felt he had more creative license in producing a book. “You have graphic and animation which plays an integral role in making of the book. Being the editor of this comic, I focused a lot on the language, look of the character, art work and content,” Sippy says.

Through illustrations, the book shows the curious mind of Gabbar and the emotional bond he shared with his father Hari Singh and mother who was a celebrated dancer. The book also revolves around Gabbar’s friendship with Sambha and his companions. What are the other additions to the bookIJ “First, in the comic we have introduced new characters like  daaku Bhairav Singh, sub-inspector Kaniyalal and Gabbar’s parents. Second, the comic is about Gabbar’s life so he is the central figure,” Sippy  tells you.

For Sascha, Sholay is as iconic and defining a film for Bollywood as Star Wars was for Hollywood.

“Following this stream of thought, Gabbar is our Darth Vader, the greatest villain in Indian cinematic history. Just like  fans around the world wanted to know about the backstory of characters like Vader, there is always a fascination in understanding what makes great villains become who they are. With Gabbar, we get to ask the greatest question of all— is evil born or madeIJ,” Devarajan tells you.

According to the creators of this special book: Gabbar  grew up seeing Daaku Bhairav Singh spreading fear in Chambal. He killed Gabbar’s father and his entire family. That’s when 17-year-old Gabbar picked up the gun and set out to avenge himself for the first time.

But so much detailing and art making did not happen over night. “We brought together some of the leading Indian comic book creators in the country who grew up on the film and wanted to pay homage to it through these short stories! These include Jeevan J Kang, Saurav Mohapatra, Edison George, Saumin Patel, Ashwin Pande and many more,” Devarajan concludes.