Chacha Chaudhary creator Pran is dead

Pran Kumar Sharma, creator of iconic comic book characters like Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu, is dead. He was 75, his family said Wednesday.

Better known as Pran, he was suffering from colon cancer and died at 9.30 p.m. Tuesday, his daughter-in-law Jyoti Pran told IANS.

"His condition was extremely critical in the last 15-20 days and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Gurgaon," she said.

His cremation will take place in Punjabi Bagh at 2.30 p.m.

He is survived by his wife Asha, son Nikhil Pran and daughter Shaily Pran.

Pran is also the creator of other characters like Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo, Raman, and Chachi.

Born in Kasur near Lahore, he began his career in 1960 as a cartoonist for a Delhi-based newspaper. He had created the character of Chacha Chaudhary for the Hindi magazine "Lotpot".

He had also received a Lifetime Achievement Award 2001 from Indian Institute of Cartoonists and he was included in list of "People of the year 1995" by Limca Book of Records for popularising comics in India.