Soothran

Soothran
Title logo of Soothran strip, showing Soothran (above) and Sheru (below)
Publication information
Publisher	Balarama
First appearance	Balarama (mid-2001)
Created by	Luis Fernandes and NM Mohan
In-story information
Species	Indian Jackal
Soothran
Series publication information
Schedule	Weekly
Format	Ongoing series
Creative team
Writer(s)	Madhavan Namboothiri
Artist(s)	Simi Muhamma

Soothran (Malayalam: സൂത്രൻ) is the titular protagonist of the Indian comic series that appears regularly in the comic magazine Balarama. The comics are conceptualized by Luis Fernandes (the editor of Tinkle) and NM Mohan, written by Madhavan Namboothiri and illustrated currently by Simi Muhamma.

The story revolves around a smart, tricky and clever jackal named Soothran who lives in a cave in the jungle. His best friend, Sheru, is a dumb and cowardly tiger. The strips depict the adventures of the two friends, and is noted for its funny twist endings. Most of the characters are anthropomorphic, walk on their hind legs and use a common language for communication.

The comic strip, launched in mid-2001, was a huge success. Unlike other comics in Malayalam, it became widely popular among Kerala youth and soon became a flagship strip of the magazine. More than 500 weekly strips of Soothran have been published so far, each one about 4 or 5 pages in length. The language presented in the series is not pure Malayalam of the literature. Dialogues used by most of the characters is seen bent to unofficial conversation style of the laymen.

"Soothran" was created by Luis Fernandes, the editor of the Tinkle magazine, and NM Mohan for Balarama in 2001. Simi Muhamma, an artist from Muhamma in Alleppey, currently draws the comics and Madhavan Namboothiri prepares the script. With Soothran's meteoric rise to fame, several other magazines have started similar strips with Simi Muhamma, the artist behind Soothran.