Vishwas Mudagal, the best-selling writer and entrepreneur, is releasing one of the most hyped Indian fiction books of the year, Rudraman: The Battle for Earth, a giant mythical sci-fi epic, which is a significant step forward in VMU (Vishwas Mudagal Universe), his own superhero universe that he has been secretly working on over the past few years.
Rudraman is a play written under the banner of VMU, and is a dramatic amalgamation of an old Indian folklore and an alien war in the future. It is a genre-bending genius that can not be put down. And Vishwas Mudagal turns out to be the master storyteller of a new generation in India.
The novel starts in 10,000 BC, where a burning spacecraft crashes in the Himalayas dragging out Lord Rudra, a reclusive warrior-yogi who disappeared centuries before. When alien invader Taraak the Asurax comes crashing down on ancient civilization with godlike might and monstrous creatures, Rudra is pulled into an extradiegetic battle with Princess Shakti, a warrior woman who is the fierce and young with an old curse. The two of them together unwind the bomb plot of the Amrita, this force which can make gods, or doom worlds.
However, when Taraak takes Shakti as a hostage, everything is different.
Rudra is short of time, and he has to resolve riddles, not only to save the Earth, but also his beloved one.
But why have the alien predators come to earth?
What is some old curse that Shakti bears unknowingly?
And what is the secret of the Amrita which may ruin whole worlds?
It has the heartfeltness of The Mahabharata, visuals reminiscent of Star Wars, and character richness of Avengers but anchored in distinctly Indian soil and awe-inspiring story and nail-biting ending.
The largest story that I ever wrote is Rudraman. It is the place where the cosmic mythology of my VMU superhero world really starts and I wanted it to feel both great and very human, says Mudagal.
Although this year Rudraman is in the limelight, Mudagal is also developing his universe using graphic narrative. His next comic, Yoddha Girl, will bring an Indian YA superheroine to the new audience. Designed as two books, Vol 1: Brat Awakens and Vol 2: Training Day, the comic series deals with a rebellious teenager who fails her 12th examination, elopes out of her home, and through a series of accidents, finds herself in the oldest superhero school on Earth in the Himalayas. Breezy, humorous, and exuberantly entertaining, Yoddha Girl makes the VMU line a one-pot wonder that cannot be kept down.
On the reason behind his next move on to comics, Mudagal reveals, India needs original superheroes to grow up with. Yoddha Girl is my means of bringing our storytelling to a new level, a visual, fast, heart-filled level.
Though VMU has been kept in the background of these releases, its presence is very clear. Being an up-and-coming Indian superhero universe, VMU is slowly forming itself into a multi-format storytelling engine, i.e. a range of books, comics, animation and, ultimately, live-action productions. True to his long-term vision, Mudagal prefers to allow the stories to be the guide other than hyping the universe to an untimely consequences.
As Rudraman is about to make a big release and Yoddha Girl is set to unleash a new heroine with a fresh idea, 2025 is the year that will be significant in the creative life of Vishwas Mudagal. With Indian mythology at its core but with internationalized ambition, they are a new generation of Indian speculative fiction, the heart, spectacle, and cultural richness.
Mudagal concentrates on one thing: Create memorable characters. Build extraordinary worlds. Allow the audience to learn about the VMU universe, story after story.
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