Toms (cartoonist)

Toms
Born V. T. Thomas
(1929-06-06)June 6, 1929
Kuttanad, India
Died April 27, 2016(2016-04-27) (aged 86)
Kottayam, Kerala, India
Nationality Indian
Area(s) Cartoonist
Notable works
 Boban and Molly
Spouse(s) Thresiakutty
Children 6

V. T. Thomas (June 6, 1929 – April 28, 2016), also known as Toms, was a cartoonist from Kerala, India who created the cartoon characters Boban and Molly.

Early life and career

Toms was born to Vaadakkal Thoppil Kunjuthomman Kunjithomman and Sicily Thomas on June 06, 1929 in Kuttanad of Alappuzha district. He completed his graduation from SB College, Changanassery. Later he joined the army as an electrician and left the job soon. He then devoted his career completely for drawing cartoons. His elder brother Peter Thomas was his inspiration behind drawings. Peter was a cartoonist in Shankar's Weekly that time.[1][2] Toms started his career in 1950 through Sathyadeepam, a Catholic weekly and Kerala Kaumudi. He then joined Malayala Manorama in 1955.[3]

Boban and Molly

Toms with Boban and Molly whom his characters where based up on

Toms created the character Boban and Molly based on two real life persons of the same name. They were two children from his neighborhood and he discovered them in his 30's. Boban and Molly was first appeared in the cartoon column of Sathyadeepam. Later the characters became more popular through Malayala Manorama. They were first published on 1957. He resigned from Manorama in 1987 and started Toms Publications.[4]

Copyright issue

After resigning from Manorama, Toms started publishing Boban and Molly independently. Manoram claimed for the copyright of characters. Although Manorama won the copyright through Supreme Court judgement, they gave the copyright to him.[5]

Other characters created by Toms

Toms also created other characters which appeared along with Boban and Molly, which all represented various personalities and life style of Keralites.

Film Adaptation

A film Bobanum Moliyum based on the characters was released in 1971 directed by J. Sasikumar, starring Madhu and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. In 2006, an animation film was also released.[6]

Books

Autobiography of Toms, titled Ente Bobanum Molliyum was released on December 29, 2015 by actor Mammootty.[7]

Personal Life

Toms was married to Thresiakutty. They have 6 children. Two of them were named Boban and Molly.

Death

He died on 27 April 2016 at SH Medical Centre in Kottayam around 10.45 PM. He was suffering from age related illness.

References

  1. ↑ "Cartoonist Toms Passes Away in Kerala". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Cartoonist Toms, creator of Boban and Molly". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Kerala cartoonist Toms, creator of 'Bobanum Moliyum'". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Cartoonist Toms passes away". Times of India. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "VT Thomas, cartoonist and creator of 'Boban and Molly'". Indian Express. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Cartoonist Toms, creator of Boban and Molly". Mathrubhumi. Retrieved 30 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Mamootty releases Toms’s autobiography". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 1 May 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.