Ashok Banker, author of the eight-part “Ramayana Series,” has now used the graphic medium to retell Lord Ram’s story.
“Prince of Dharma,” according to Banker, is a stripped-down, visually opulent sequential version of the novel.
Readers who are put off by the prospect of reading eight books over 500 pages each can dive right in to this adaptation and enjoy the same story. For graphic novel fans like me, it’s great to see these timeless characters so beautifully illustrated “, he says.
The graphic novel is published by Campfire and features illustrations by award-winning artist Sachin Nagar.
Author and screenwriter Banker’s writing spans genres of crime thrillers, essays, literary criticism, and fiction, but he is most credited for his mythological retellings of Indian epics, beginning with the eight-part “Ramayana Series”.
Nagar uses a semi-realistic style to make the characters and scenes more impressive and visual.
On why he chose the graphic medium, Banker says: “The graphic novel is often known as sequential art. It is an independent form of storytelling that uses a combination of images and words in a certain order, with the creative use of space and color and form.
“Look at the beautiful art of Sachin Nagar in this book. That’s reason enough for me! It’s an unlimited budget movie, memorable characters, visual effects and action sequences.”
The author says that when he started writing his Ramayana series in the 1990s, publishers refused to even consider the manuscripts.
“Their logic was that no one would want to read these stories that they already knew so well. But I found in my lifetime that most Indians, even well-educated people, hadn’t actually read the original Valmiki or Kamban stories,” he says. .
“As a non-Hindu, I was curious enough to read them first as a child, and I felt it was time to tell these stories in a new way for the current era. It all started with a creative vision of a grand and timeless story with so many nuances that few people knew about,” he says.
“I think the same fascination that drew me to the epic continues to attract readers today. This is our shared culture, our heritage, Hindu or non-Hindu. This is India at its core, for better or for worse.” , he adds.
When asked how different it was to write for graphics, Banker said, “Nagar’s amazing artistic interpretations of the characters and the world made it worthwhile. I doubt my Ramayana series will ever be successfully adapted for it.” screen, so this is the closest that readers can experience it as a visual experience. It helps that the core story is so great.”
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