Bollywood filmmaker Shiv Panikker launches his anime comic book

Bollywoon producer, director & screenwriter, Shiv Panikker, recently launched his first ever graphic novel Gone Case, a horror/ mystery comic book that Indian audiences would be able to relate to.

Published by Blue Rose Publishers, ‘Gone Case’ is a series of events all connected together after tumbling down the rabbit hole that connects to one big case. A Mumbai based cop with a dark past is tasked with escorting an escaped inmate back to the asylum. Along the way, he suspects that the inmate might be a serial killer & the asylum may be haunted.

“Two years ago while working on Ryan Reynolds & Michael Bay’s film set for Netflflix’s 6 Underground, I got inspired to write my own story. Just the scale of what a Netflix production could be in today’s day and age made me believe that anyone can do it in their own little way, if they have a good content-driven story. After pitching the script to a producer, I was told to reduce the intensity, add a couple of songs and a love story arc to Gone Case, that’s when I realised that Gone Case isn’t ready for the screen as yet,” said Shiv while speaking on how he came up with Gone Case.

“In 2019 I fell victim to debit card theft while living in Bangkok. Living in a foreign country with your only source of finances blocked was one of the most nightmarish experiences I’ve ever faced. I was later informed that debit card theft is not uncommon & that the information is sold on the dark web. To my amazement I then found out that 98% of the card information being sold online were Indian. I knew I had to talk about this and bring awareness about the dark web in my own little way and that is one of the main reasons why I refused to commercialise the story,” added Shiv.

“I’ve always been a lifelong fan of comic books. Living in Bangkok, and seeing the street artists make their own Batman and Spiderman stories inspired me to take the leap and turn my story into a comic book of my own. Thus, was born the idea of ‘Gone Case’. It is a book that I’ve put a lot of thought and heart into, and a book that I believe a lot of Anime & comic book lovers are going to enjoy,” said Shiv, speaking on the launch of his book.

Two weeks into the launch, the trailer for the comic went viral on Shiv’s social media and the comic book became Amazon’s #1 hottest new release and even debuted in the top 50 bestselling comics list. Since then, the book has garnered critical praise for it’s dark and mysterious storyline, with critics calling it a new alternative for Indian comic book fans.