These comic books became a craze among kids during the 90s.
As a kid, which superhero did you admire, or sometimes imagine yourself as? Superman? Batman? Iron Man? Or our desi Shaktiman? Krrish? Ra. One?
Well, during the late 70s and 80s, if you had asked the same question to a kid, the answer would most probably be Amitabh Bachchan. With films like 'Deewaar', 'Sholay', 'Trishul', 'Kaala Patthar', 'Dostana', and 'Coolie' among others, he literally became a superhero that every kid dreamed of becoming once they would grow up. On the big screen, he was the voice of the common man. And he did everything that the masses could not in their real-life - standing against the corrupt system, fighting hundreds of men with bare hands, and bringing justice. The kind of influence that his "angry young man" image had on people is still unmatched in the truest sense of the term.
Amitabh Bachchan – The Man, Myth, The Legend
Although it may sound surprising to many today, there's actually an entire comic book series (with a superhero as its protagonist) based on Bachchan. And those books became remarkably popular during the 80s, especially among kids. On the occasion of Big B's 82nd birthday, let's have a look at that.
Supremo is the comic book character based on Amitabh Bachchan. And the book series is titled 'The Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan', which was published during the 1980s.
Pammi Bakshi, then editor of Movie magazine, developed the series for her magazine's publisher, India Book House (which had its own comics line called Star Comics). Initially, these were written by Gulzar, actress Sudha Chopra, and freelance writers. Bakshi served as the editor, while Pratap Mullick was the art director. There was an introductory note by Big B in every edition: "Don’t tell anyone I’m Supremo!” Back then, these books cost around Rs 4 each.
Supremo was a comic book character in the series "The Adventures of Amitabh Bachchan" (किस्से अमिताभ के), published in the 1980s. Supremo was the brainchild of Pammi Bakshi, editor of the Movie magazine, who developed the series India Book House. @SrBachchan @juniorbachchan pic.twitter.com/M6uxPYKaHm
— Bollywoodirect (@Bollywoodirect) March 16, 2018
Credit: Bollywoodirect
The series depicted Bachchan as an actor (often seen shooting with Manmohan Desai or Prakash Mehra) who would turn Supremo at night by wearing a skin-tight costume and large glasses. He always carries a Walkman, as music is his passion, and has two helpers named Vijay and Anthony. Also, he has a dolphin named Sonali, and a falcon scout Shaheen.
In 1980s, Amitabh Bachchan was launched as a crime fighting superhero called Supremo in a comic book series published by India Book House under its Star Comics banner. The series ADVENTURES OF AMITABH BACHCHAN was published for two years. #AmitabhBachchan pic.twitter.com/M2ybXAGp8J
— Filmy Guftgu (@filmyguftgu) January 27, 2021
Credit: Filmy Guftgu
The series took off with the adventure, 'The Lost Idol'.
The story of how Supremo came into place is quite interesting. One day during the early 1980s, Pammi Bakshi, while standing on the balcony of her flat, saw a group of children playing on the premises of a nearby building. The kids were pretending to be superheroes. One declared himself as Superman, while another said he was Batman. However, the third said he wanted to be Amitabh Bachchan (remember what’s written in the intro?), and suddenly all the kids started fighting to claim the role of Bachchan.
IBH was looking to create a new superhero for India, and Bakshi realized there could be no one better than Bachchan.
Some time later, Bakshi met Bachchan on the sets of 'Pukaar' in Goa. There was an insane craze surrounding the superstar at that time. And every time he reached the sets, his co-star Randhir Kapoor would call him Supremo. Bakshi decided to use this name for the character.
35 years ago, #Gulzar wrote a series of comic books depicting @SrBachchan as the superhero #Supremo. @projectseestra picks five that would make wonderful film adaptations @ACKComicshttps://t.co/nHhxS2y60Q pic.twitter.com/BYt5hMi2Bh
— Film Companion Studios (@FilmCompanion) April 2, 2018
Credit: Film Companion Studios
After getting a green signal from Big B, Bakshi reached out to Gulzar to create the character and to be the script consultant for the series. Eventually, it came out as a mix of Superman, Phantom, and Amitabh Bachchan. According to some reports, the superstar himself selected the look for Supremo.
Besides 'The Lost Idol', some other popular stories under the series include 'Treasure Island', 'The Hijack', and 'The Impostor'.
In these books, Supremo does everything from protecting his island to finding out stolen idols to rescuing kids from hijackers to uncovering the secret of a lost city to saving the world from aliens, and more.
#AmitabhBachchan completes 50 years in #Bollywood. In the #Supremo comics, written by #Gulzar, his superhero avatar fought aliens, dopplegangers, dacoits and even the king of Atlantis. Here are 5 that would’ve made great film adaptations. https://t.co/4VSWhxDTBj pic.twitter.com/jHkhDgPUjO
— Film Companion South (@FCompanionSouth) February 17, 2019
Credit: Film Companion South
A Hindi version of the series was also published, titled 'Kissey Amitabh Ke'.