Read about it in a magazine once, and a friend just showed me this article earlier today.
I want me some Pavitr Prabhakar in that dhoti of his 
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Press Release
SPIDER-MAN INDIA – SPIDER-MAN EXTENDS FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD TO STREETS OF BOMBAY!
*Bangalore, India (June, 2004)— Marvel Enterprises, Inc. & Gotham Entertainment Group –Indian publishing licensee of Marvel Comics and the leading publisher of international comic magazines in South Asia – announces the launch of Spider-Man India. *
*Spider-Man India interweaves the local customs, culture and mystery of modern India, with an eye to making Spider-Man’s mythology more relevant to this particular audience. Readers of this series will not see the familiar Peter Parker of Queens under the classic Spider-Man mask, but rather a new hero – a young, Indian boy named Pavitr Prabhakar. As Spider-Man, Pavitr leaps around rickshaws and scooters in Indian streets, while swinging from monuments such as the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal. *
*Mumbai’s (Bombay’s) first web-swinging Super Hero will be joined by a reinterpretation of the classic Spider-Man villain, the Green Goblin – reinvented as a Rakshasa, an Indian mythological demon. *
“We feel this is one of the most exciting and unique projects in comic history,” said Gotham Entertainment Group CEO Sharad Devarajan. “Unlike traditional translations of American comics, Spider-Man India will become the first-ever ‘transcreation,’ where we reinvent the origin of a Western property like Spider-Man so that he is an Indian boy in Mumbai and dealing with local problems and challenges.”
Pavitr Prabhakar has already made a big splash in the media both in India and abroad – both Rediff.com and BBC have featured him already, though Rediff could not get hold of a decent picture and had to make do with a picture of his local creator kissing a spider-man head!
If you are looking for high quality pictures of Pavitr Prabhakar for your desktop or for printing, you can visit the Gotham Comics Pavitr Prabhakar website by clicking here.
Everyone has not taken kindly to the desi Spiderman though. Several bloggers have expressed anger and disgust on their blogs, and while many others have welcomed Pavitra Prabhakar to India and are anxiously awaiting the release of the first comic in the series. “I was disgusted to see Spiderman’s new Indian avatar as “Pavitra Prabhakar” (instead of Peter Parker) and clad in a dhoti and shod in jootis when Spiderman! Ugggghhh!” wrote Ranjit Mathew, an Oracle programmer.
In the Indian version, Pavitr Prabhakar gets his crime-fighting powers from a Hindu holy man. In the original, Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, hence the name. That may not wash in India, is what the Gotham bosses feel. I don’t know – with a nuclear scientist as our president, would it be that difficult for Indians to figure out radioactivity?
We have seen reports that Mary Jane Watson will become Maya (according to Rediff) while another report said that Mary Jane will be rechristened Meera. We do not have confirmation yet on spidey’s Indian girlfriend’s name.
Spiderman’s locale also will be shifted to India. So Pavitra Prabhakar will have to swing around the Gateway of India, Taj Mahal hotel, perhaps even Mumbai’s double-deckers. One of Pavitr Prabhakar’s critics is Vinil, who has mocked at the desi Spiderman extensively. Here is what he has to say:
“Pavitr Prabhakar Bachao!
Translated into English, that would read, “Spiderman help!” Unbelievable? Believe it. As this site (http://www.gothamcomics.com/Spiderman_india/) has us believe, we could soon see the local avatar of Spiderman prancing about Mumbai’s trees (what are those?) or hanging (well, him, his dhoti, and his “chukka mani” too maybe…hehehe) from the ceiling of Gateway of India.
Now, that is a funny attire for a Superhero! And, since most non-desi SuperHeroes answer the question blatantly (i.e. Do Superheroes wear underwear!), I wonder if during one of his swinging episodes, the dhoti flies off, would we see a He-man with a Spiderman top or Spiderman in Langot or would we see the Pygmy or Aboriginal Spiderman (eeek!)
*This is funny and foolish localization! *
What about the Name? Check out the similarity between “Peter” and “Pavitur” (albeit spelt as Pavitr) and “Parker” and “Prabhakar”! Awesome! Guys, you rock in the creativity department! Real Pakao!
And, pray tell what’s the name of the Superhero, Makdi Manav?!”
What we know for sure is that Pavitra Prabhakar will definitely be wearing a dhoti. The Green Goblin villain will be replaced by Rakshasa, an Indian mythological demon that has shape-shifting abilities. Even though the BBC reported that there would be four comic books released to coincide with release of the Spiderman 2 movie, there is no sign of the Indian Spiderman books yet.
By the way, there has once been a different Spiderman – a Dutch Spiderman. However, this was not a real Spiderman – he was a comic character too, who took inspiration from the original Spiderman and created his own web fluid, and once had a meeting with Peter Parker, the real Spiderman. You can read more about what happened to him here. Here is a pic of the Dutch Spiderman. http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/dutchSpiderman.htm
Typical Spiderman buffs have not taken very kindly to Pavitr Prabhakar though. Some of the original Spiderman’s fans think that it is exploitative, while some others absolutely hate Prabhakar’s costume. You can read one on-going discussion here. We will keep you posted as and when we get more information on our own *desi *spidey.
oh that’s so wrong.
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