Tintin film to open earlier in India than US

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Steven Spielberg’s 3D film on the Belgian boy cartoon character, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, will open in India on November 11, six weeks before its US release, scheduled for Christmas. Produced by Paramount Pictures and Colombia Pictures, the movie will be dubb ed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, and open along with the English version in India.

Kercy Daruwala, Managing Director of Sony Pictures (India), which owns Colombia, says that “the early India release of the film could have been motivated by the immense popularity of Tintin comics in the country. The brand awareness for the character, a Belgian news reporter, is over 90 per cent. Satyajit Ray and poet novelist Vikram Seth have referred to Tintin in their works.

“Besides, Indians love movies, and are crazy about seeing them before anybody else. They have this urge to watch the first day, first show, and with the Tintin film opening first in India, a heightened curiosity may translate into more attractive boxoffice returns”, Daruwala adds.

Gautaman Bhaskaran
Created by Georges Remi or Herge, as he preferred to call himself, Tintin comics were first translated into Bengali in India, and it is believed that every other household in Kolkata has a copy of the book. In fact, Herge himself wanted to visit Kolkata, and had incorporated India, though not the city, in two of his stories, Cigars of the Pharaoh and Tintin in Tibet.

The Spielberg film, using advanced motion capture 3D technology and based on the series, The Adventures of Tintin, will star Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Defiance) as Tintin, whose passionate pursuit of good stories pushed him into high adventure. Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace, Defiance) will essay the nefarious Red Rackham. Three new characters, who did not exist in the strips, have been added in the movie.

Spielberg himself has been a great fan of Tintin since 1981, when a review compared his Raiders of the Lost Ark to the exploits of the boy reporter. The helmer first acquired the rights for Tintin in 1983, soon after Herge’s death, and re-optioned them in 2003. The two men were to have met, but death intervened