Hum Tum: Coming soon on TV sets near you

The film has been a hit. So apparently is the comic strip, which appears in the city supplements of a leading English daily. Now, watch out for the animated version of the comic strip.

Yash Raj Films, the company behind the blockbuster Hum Tum, is in preliminary talks with local cartoon channels, for bringing the comic strip alive on television.

This will be the first time when an Indian movie-spawned cartoon characters will make a TV appearance.

When the debut actually happens, Hum Tum will be India's answer to the popular Laurel and Hardy series - which was first conceived as a film in the black-and-white era, to be born-again later in the form of comic strips.

For an animation to be successful, the character has to have a certain quality of immortality, like Mickey or Tom & Jerry or even a Superman. For ages, these cartoon characters have been a source of entertainment and they continue to be a part of our consciousness.

In that context, for Hum Tum to undertake such a project is certainly an ambitious one.

In India, however, only reel characters in flesh-and-blood a la Amitabh Bachchan or a Rajesh Khanna have had a mersmeric appeal on the viewers. In fact, in the '80s, there used to be a comic book hero - Supremo - styled after the Big B himself, which faded away after a couple of amply forgettable appearances.

So, the question is whether Hum Tum in animation going to be a success story? Tarun Tripathi, senior executive, Yash Raj Films, is convinced that the characters of Hum Tum have a long life outside the movie.

Launching Hum Tum merchandise is also on the cards. Yash Raj Films is thinking on the lines of coming out with a 'Tum' doll, which is styled after Rhea Prakash, the character played by Rani Mukherjee.

When the Tum doll sees the light of the day, it would be the first made-in-India branded doll - the indigenous counterpart of the western Barbie. The production house is currently deliberating with some toy companies about the launch.

Tripathi is, however, quick to issue a word of caution. "At the moment, the Tum doll is in its nascent stage."

Meanwhile, the movie is having a successful run on the theatres. The flick, with a production cost of Rs 9 crore, has grossed around Rs 10 crore so far.

If all goes well, Karan Kapoor and Rhea Prakash (Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukherjee) may well have the opportunity to lead a life independent of their 70 mm doubles. © 2004 agencyfaqs!