'Indian kids need heroes they can relate to'

Samir Patil has an air of casual self-confidence about him. Sitting in his sprawling Mumbai office, Patil comes across as someone who doesn't make much of his position. Yet the 38-year-old entrepreneur is a powerful man. He holds the key to India's future potential -- an estimated 350 million children and preteens that will take over 'Young India' in the next two decades.

Two years ago Samir Patil took over two of India's most loved storybook brands -- Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) and Tinkle -- comic books this generation and the previous one grew up reading. While Tinkle gave us lovable characters like Suppandi and Shikari Shambu, the Amar Chitra Katha series introduced most of us to Indian mythology.

Today, as the younger generation moves beyond books and looks to the internet and television as sources of entertainment, Patil has his task cut out.

In an interview with Abhishek Mande, Samir Patil shares his plans of reaching out to a new and ever-evolving market.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How do you plan to reach out to a generation that many believe doesn't read at all?

(Smiles) I think reading stopped a long time ago. In any business it is important to understand that you cannot change consumer behaviour. Instead you have to get to their level and reach out to them. Hence we need to have a multi-platform approach.

We already have a Karadi Tales television show on Disney Channel and are looking at an Amar Chitra Katha show on Cartoon Network. Besides, we are in the process of producing films and are also developing a role-playing game for teenagers online. Print cannot stand alone in today's times. It has to be supported by other media.

Could you elaborate on your plans?

Besides the animated shows, we are also producing quiz contests and plan to publish a book at the end of the show.

We also organise a lot of interactive ground events in various schools where we narrate stories of various heroes -- from Ratan Tata to Shivaji -- heroes that kids can relate to in their daily life and can get them to participate in fun activities and ask them what hero they want to be.

Creating original content and newer characters also remains on the top of our agenda. Nina, a girl who is between 11 and 13 years of age and goes on various adventures, is our latest creation. Characters like her will target preschool girls while those on television (which we are in the process of evolving) will be aimed at boys.

The thing with India is that even though content is king distribution is God. So we are looking at that aspect of our business too.

Who is the most popular character in Tinkle -- Suppandi or Shikari Shambu?

Suppandi, definitely! Shikari Shambu comes a close second but I guess Suppandi's antics are far more relatable, which makes him so popular.

What about mythological characters? I believe there are films in the making.

There's the story of Tripura that is being made into a film. Tripura were the three mythic cities that were built by Maya, the architect of the asuras (demons) and were destined to be destroyed only by a single arrow shot by Lord Shiva. The story is such that it will appeal not just to kids but also to adults. Besides Tripura, we are also in the process of making another movie called Sons of Rama -- the tale of Lav and Kush. However, it is too early to speak about it.

What do you make of the criticism that ACK books tend to be somewhat politically incorrect?

Allegations such as these are levelled against Tintin and Enid Blyton's books too. Pop culture will always have some amount of stereotypes. But I really don't buy into these theories because there simply isn't enough empirical data to prove them. A billion Amar Chitra Katha books have been sold so far. Prime ministers and children across the country have read it -- people like you and I included. And I think most of us have turned out well enough.

How did the acquisition of Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha come about?

I had been a media consultant with McKinsey for over six years and was in India on a sabbatical to write a book. While I was here, I discovered that there is no quality content for children in India. Although there is a good lot of imported content, there is almost little or none that is tailored for Indian kids. I saw this as a business opportunity and decided to start something on my own.

Why Amar Chitra Katha in particular?

ACK is a brand to reckon with. It is something that most of us -- including Prime Ministers (AB Vajpayee) -- grew up knowing and reading. Many derived knowledge of their first mythological stories from the Amar Chitra Katha series. The same holds true for Tinkle, which has been so popular across the country. Rather than creating a new brand and starting from scratch, I thought it made sense to acquire an already existing one and take it to another level. That's when I approached India Book House (that used to own the brands) and bought it off them.

Tell us something about the book you came down to write.

I wanted to write about the history of critical thinking in India. Obviously after I started this endeavour it is getting to be difficult to dedicate time towards the book. But it is definitely a work in progress. The fascination for history was always there since the time I was preparing for IAS. I simply want to look at it from the prism of ideas.

What were the challenges you faced during the initial months of ACK Media?

We were looking at an audience of 350 million and the model had to be made from scratch! So the biggest issue, so to say, was the fact that there wasn't a single business model that we could look at and learn from. We were the first to get into a multi-platform endeavour such as this. Besides that we had to go about capacity building. So we had to acquire an animation company, hire a technical and creative team as well as expand the editorial team.

The idea was to take ACK from being static to interactive and that gap needed to be covered. Also, it was important to strike a balance between content that was educative and value-centric as well as entertaining. We will have to continue to address these issues even as we evolve as a company.

How do you manage to strike a good work-life balance? Or do you?

(Laughs) I must confess I don't. I usually work for over 12 hours a day and even on my days off it becomes difficult to switch off. But my work itself is so much fun I don't really feel the need for it so much.

What would you advise young entrepreneurs?

Firstly, you need to make a distinction between whether you're a first-time entrepreneur or a second/third time one. You cannot change the world in the first go. So take it easy.

Secondly, understand the scalability of your enterprise -- don't get enamoured by an idea so much that you don't see its drawbacks.

And finally (and most importantly), try your hand at something that you love and not so much because there is a big market for it. Because you will always have bad days and that is when your love for what you hold you in good stead.