Femina India – August 09, 2019

O

neofMounicaTata’scomics

showcasesa familyportraitwith

eachmemberramblingaway

beforea pictureis tobecaptured.

Another,talksaboutthehorrors

of sprayingdeodorantonthearmpitsrightafter

shavingthem.Gothrougha fewmore,andyou’ll

find onewhichappropriatelybringsoutthe

pleasureofpaanipuri.Scrollfurther,andthere

are umpteencapturingnostalgia.

The30-year-old,whogoesbytheInstagram

handle@doodleodrama,is oneofthemost

REALITYinterview

MounicaTatatakesheraudiencethrougha rollercoasterofemotionswithherillustrationsand

comics.ShetellsNikshubhaGargwhytheyareidealtoputfortha point

popularIndianillustratorsonsocialmedia.She

kick-startedDoodleoDramain 2013 onFacebook

asa meanstosharecomicswithfriendsand

family,andtoday,thepagehasover84kfollowers

ontheplatform,and66.8konInstagram.Tata,

armedwitha postgraduatedegreeinmass

communicationfromChristCollege,Bengaluru,

leanedtowardsartsincechildhood,andenjoyed

keepingherselfengagedintheprocess.However,

drawingtookcentre-stageduringhermaster’s

degree.“I madesillycaricaturesoffriendsand

teachers,andalsoincludedcomicsaboutcollege

life.Thatloveoftellingstoriesthroughcomics

continued.”Askherwhatmakesherillustrations

popular,andshesays,“Theirhonesty.”Having

workedasaneditor,copywriter,andclient

executive(inthatorder),shequitin 2016 totake

upillustratingfull-time.

Alongwithmultipledrawingsthatare

enoughtobringa smiletoyourface,anddrop

(temporarily,ofcourse)harshrealitiesoflife,

shealsoaddressespoliticalandsocialissues

thatdeserveattention.Whilea fewdrawings

calloutthesocietalpressureonwomentofit

intoa certainbox,a fewhighlightthe“phallus

privilege”.Talkingaboutwhycomics/illustrations

areaneffectivewaytoconveya message,she

“COMICS

HELP ME

BREAKDOWN

SUBJECT

MATTERS AND

MAKE THEM

DIGESTIBLE.”

THROUGH A

‘COMIC’ LENS