Cartoonist Raja Mushtaq, commonly known as Rmaam was born to a literary family in Shikarpur, a district in Sindh in1982.

He would spend hours looking at local cinema hoarding painters making life-size images of film actors in radiant bright colours. His family wanted him to focus on studies rather than spending time with signboard painters.

One of his maternal uncles, Fazal Karim Mangi, who was also an artist, realised his passion and started encouraging him to draw. In 2000, he joined the Sadequain Institute of Art & Information Technology, Karachi, to earn a Diploma in Business Administration.

“I loved to spend time doing drawings with fine arts students. The faculty and principal used to appreciate my drawing skills and wanted me to study fine arts rather than doing the DBA,” he vividly recalls.

Due to financial hardships, he quit studies and started working as a political cartoonist for Hilal-e-Pakistan. “Inspired by the works of Munawar Abro, Feica and Zahoor, I was interested in making political cartoons. I agreed to work for a meagre salary, because the idea of my works getting printed with my signature was quite fascinating for me,” he says.

Rmaam (Mushtaq) joined the National College of Arts, Lahore, in 2007 to major in the discipline of sculpture. “The NCA gave me more than my expectations. I was supported by the faculty in every possible way. The study of sculpture helped me a great deal in understanding the human anatomy and other three dimensional forms.

“During my third year, I got a job of concept artist in a local company. I used to design characters for animated movies, comic books and video games. I was paid well for long working hours after college, from evenings to midnight,” he says.

Meeting Sindhi artist Fatah Daudpota during his studies was a watershed moment in his artistic career.

“After seeing my sketches, he said ‘You are perfect; now have confidence in yourself and evolve the comic characters from the cultural roots of your own’.

“It was quiet encouraging. He guided me to overcome technical problems I was facing,” Mushtaq says.

After completing his studies, Rmaam moved to Karachi in 2007 and started working as a freelance illustrator for various local and international clients, including the British Council Karachi and renowned American company, Marvel Studios, which owns the famous comic characters including Iron Man and Spider Man.

“I got the online jobs after going through tough competition; they were not well paid but helped me understand modern trends of developing comic characters. I continued it as process of learning,” he says.

After spending a year in Karachi, Rmaam came back to Lahore and then moved to Islamabad when he got a job offer. He worked for Unicorn Black as a senior concept artist for few months before joining an interior decoration company, Fun City.

“I enjoyed working there; the challenging jobs especially making over life size sculptures,” he says.

Nowadays, he is planning to move to Lahore again and set up a studio of his own there.

“After detailed studies of popular comic characters and keeping in mind their flaws, I am in a process of creating a comic character from my own cultural landscape. Unlike the European characters, I am developing it in such a way that people could relate to it globally,” Rmaam claims.

Known for his excellent drawing skills, Rmaam is among the very few Pakistani visual artists who ventured into this difficult genre that requires outstanding skills, consistent hard work and a strong imagination. He has the potential to make his distinctive mark on the comic art scene of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2014