29-05-2025
Tintin-style comic book makeover for Lakadbaggha film action hero
In 2023, actor Anshuman Jha, an unlikely candidate to shoulder a superhero franchise, snuck behind a hoodie to play the role of Arjun Bakshi, an animal trainer-turned-vigilante who saves a striped hyena from poachers in the indie action film Lakadbaggha (directed by Victor Mukherjee).
The film had a muted theatrical release, but proved a better draw on streaming. Its themes of environmentalism, animal welfare, and citizen activism stayed with Jha, who has now extended the film into a multi-media franchise, starting with a comic book but extending into sequels, merchandise and video games. The makers are calling it the Animal Lover Vigilante Universe.
Recently launched in Mumbai by actor John Abraham, honorary director of PETA India, the Lakadbaggha comic book amalgamates diverse influences, from Tintin to Bruce Lee. The creators see this as an opportunity to instil values of animal welfare in young minds through an action franchise. 'When you see someone harm an animal, you really want to beat them up. This fulfils that fantasy,' says Abraham, who has two rescued dogs — Bailey and Sia — at home.
Hergé's influence
Jha, 40, spent his childhood and early teens immersed in Tintin, Nagraj and Chacha Chaudhary. In the winter of 2022, he was touring with the Lakadbaggha movie in the U.S. when he met Brittain Peck, an illustrator and visual artist, who shared his enthusiasm for Tintin. 'We spent seven months ideating and arguing to crack the art style,' says Jha.
Titled Lakadbaggha: The Prologue, the 30-page mini-comic dramatises a drug bust at Kolkata's Khidirpir docks by Arjun and his trusty canine Shonku (named, you guessed it, for the Satyajit Ray character). The art style echoes the unobtrusive 'ligne claire' approach pioneered by Belgian cartoonist and Tintin creator Hergé. In the opening panel, a ship named 'Kaliyuga' stands moored at the docks, an homage to 'Aurora' that whisked away Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock to the Arctic Ocean in The Shooting Star (1942).
'I grew up with Marvel comics and often found them busy and intimidating,' confides Peck, who went to art school at the University of North Carolina. 'By contrast, any Tintin comic has three main colours and a simplicity of panelling and storytelling that draws you in.' Peck was delighted to discover the enduring fandom of Tintin in India, a legacy that has survived postcolonial readings of the ginger-haired adventurer.
'Tintin is incredibly European to a fault. He is this young white boy who can go anywhere in the world, fly an aeroplane and take on whole armies. While I do appreciate the visual language, we have also tried to reclaim it to tell the story of an Indian vigilante and superhero,' says Peck.
Wildlife awareness
The Lakadbaggha comic book ends with two factoids about hyenas: that they have the strongest bite force among carnivore mammals, and that a mother hyena's milk is exceedingly rich in fat and proteins. 'Every comic book in the series will have these,' says Jha, who hopes to educate young readers about the animal world.
A second book is currently in development and will be launched at the New York Comic-Con in October.
