Today, caricatures are not only synonymous with political and social commentary in newspapers countrywide but also an inseparable part of various digital expressions. Their conscious and subconscious existence in our psyche and social interactions cannot be ignored. All thanks to a wide range of talented caricature artists, India continues to hone. We highlight 13 of them.
"Caricature – a picture, description or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect."
Colloquially also labelled as cartoons, the word "Caricature" comes from the Italian words "Carico" and "Caricare", translating to load' or to 'exaggerate'. Having gained momentum since Italian siblings Annibale and Agostino Carracci applied this semantic to their proportionally blown-up portrait sketches in the 1590s, caricature today as an art form enjoys exclusive social appreciation worldwide.
While India has a vast history in the evolution of its art, the transition in the consciousness of modern-day caricature here came to be at different times and places through the course and context of Indian politics, particularly as India's independence movement gained momentum through print.
The British Punch had begun to print and circulate Indian vernacular editions in colonial India since the 1870s. Soon, an increasing number of Indian artists began to make their presence felt in print and caricatures started to take nationalistic tones as their impact on the movement came to be realised.
Fast forward to contemporary times, illustrators and caricaturists are increasingly flourishing across the landscape of Indian design. Here are 11 of these noteworthy caricature artists:
Abhilash is an artist, animator, designer, and director with over 20 years of experience across international projects. He has worked as an animation director, show director, concept and visualisation artist, and pre-production director. Abhilash has also directed the animated film Hanuman Returns by Anurag Kashyap and continues to work on concept design, children’s illustrations, and creative development.
......................................................................
Bharat is the founder of BKV Arts as a caricaturist. His works present a light-hearted, vibrant and easygoing approach to things. He does this using multiple shades of bright colours, fused with a particular emphasis on expressions. One can easily grasp the nature of his subjects without having to worry about whether they know the actual personalities in reality or not.
......................................................................
A Mumbai-based freelance illustrator and visualiser with a BFA from the Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art. He has collaborated with prominent brands like Tata, Mahindra, and Mercedes and contributed to projects such as the IPL’s Delhi team illustrations. His work emphasises versatility, blending traditional and digital mediums to craft detailed, vibrant visuals that resonate with audiences.
......................................................................
Kapil describes himself as a caricature artist and storyteller with a love for cinema. He undertakes personal projects when off his day job as a full-time illustrator for an E-learning platform.
......................................................................
Mahesh is an Indian caricature artist and animator from Kerala, known for his humorous and expressive celebrity caricatures. He has worked as a lead animator with the U.S.-based animation studio Auryn Inc. and previously served as animation director at Toonz Animation in Trivandrum. A graduate of the University of Calicut, Mahesh has also collaborated with studios such as Toei Animation in Tokyo and Heart Animation in Hyderabad.
......................................................................
Manoj Sinha is currently associated with multiple Indian newspapers at the Hindustan Times group. His caricature works include not only portraits but also full-length representations of characters. Unhesitating to draw them as he sees them, he is a keen advocate of pencil-work in his displays. Though seeming to stem from a considerable influence of politics, his work also includes global influencers from various other areas such as sport, film and the likes.
......................................................................
A self-taught caricaturist, Mahboob Raja’s nature of work features diverse mediums in the form of watercolour and oil works, both digitally and on canvas. Apart from having being an illustrator art teacher, he has been associated with making some popular Indian animated TV commercials. Raja’s caricatures significantly bear the strong application and impact of watercolour effects in his interpretation of personalities, adding a touch of innocence to his subjects as a whole.
......................................................................
Mangesh Khollam otherwise known as Scooter beard is a freelance cartoonist, illustrator, character designer based in Pune, India. Mangesh’s caricatures are often delightfully exaggerated versions of the subject, depicted to humour and engage the viewer's imagination.
......................................................................
Prasad Bhat is the sole proprietor of Graphicurry, an independent artist design studio based in Bengaluru. His caricatures prominently exude a strong presence and application of digital elements, leading to a graphic comic-like presence. Prasad’s work predominantly features characters from a seemingly strong influence of many-an-international TV series, films and celebrities – Pulp Fiction, Friends, Brad Pitt and the likes. The use of deep, high contrasting colours uniformly exists across his depictions.
......................................................................
A Fine Arts graduate from KSS School of Arts, Kottayam, Shijo Varghese started his career as an art teacher in his native village. The illustrator now based in Bengaluru is not shy to take outright liberty with asymmetrical geometric interpretations of his characters. His caricatures unapologetically present personalities beyond their socially perceived aura of “perfection”. Having authored three books, he now heads the design department at Planetsurf Creations.
......................................................................
A Bengaluru-based caricature artist and Flash animator, Shesh Kiran, bears a decade of experience working with various multimedia outfits. Fun and quirky with vibrant colours, his characters come alive not just through their wide eyes and keen expressions but also through a keen amplification of their persona by effectively incorporating related accessories and surroundings elements as part of them. Simplicity that would especially appeal to the childlike; the not-so-serious kind.
Siddhant Jumde is an illustrator and political cartoonist from Mumbai, India. He is currently the chief illustrator for India Today Magazine. He specialised in Applied Arts from Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Arts.
......................................................................
Mumbai-based freelance Digital illustrator and caricature artist Uday Mohite’s strong depiction of hyper-realism evokes a mixed feeling of looking at a painting, sketch and photograph at the same time within a single frame. Caricatures of his subjects are not typically limited to the political arena but make for a good mix of characters from all around, especially film, television and social situations. The Sir J. J. Institute of Applied Art grad has also been a part of several leading newspapers like DNA and Mid-Day.