T R I B U T E – C O M I C
Sultanul Arefeen
If you had asked me ten years ago how my Nonte Fonte experience went, I could’ve passed you by with a shabby answer. On the contrary, if you ask me the same question now, I might be able to reply with a conventional answer now. However, it would still lack simplicity about my raw opinions on these decades-old, hilariously, feel-good, comedy, Indian animation.
During weekends, my father and I often used to binge watch this show. He used to buy new DVDs on weekdays and we used to enjoy every last bit of it on weekends. By putting a disc into an extra DVD player, the disc would go in and so our adventures began there.
The boisterous lyrics of the opening theme is what catches your attention primarily, then slowly pulls you inside the screen. By the time you’re finished, you discover that you are already hooked.
For those who didn’t know, Nonte Fonte was initially an Indian comic-strip of Narayan Debnath (recipient of Padma Award 2021), which used to be published in a children’s monthly magazine, Kishore Bharati. Later on, in 2002, the comic was recreated in colour and eventually got animated, which aired in Akash Bangla since 2006.
Miscellaneous amount of time has passed since that day. Countless changes took place within these years, but my utter admiration towards Narayan Debnath and Nonte Fonte remained constant. My bodily appearances changed, inevitably. However, the child within me remained untouched.
While the archetypes of foes for many were Mojo-Jojo and Jafar back then, my joie de vivre moments were the ones that included Keltu plotting against Nonte and Fonte, only to find out his plans getting backfired at the end of the day.
To tell you the truth, the very first and prominent episode I watched, titled “Guptodhon”, has imprinted crystal-clear memories in my head. This particular episode contributed significantly to my character development. My second favourite episode was titled “Bok Shikar”. On a cozy afternoon, I still prefer to plug in the earphones and rewatch the whole playlist.
The second most dramatic thing about the show is that the minor characters are given the most hilarious names (Bhetkuda, Nepchada, Boncha, Lengcha), which makes the show stand out from other Bangla shows. The voice actors deliver the dialogues in such a way, the show unveils itself to its audiences. Therefore, their contributions stand remarkably.
There are other exemplary shows, I would recommend you to watch if you’ve enjoyed Nonte Fonte, created by the same person e.g. Bantul the Great, Handa Bhonda, etc. Precisely, Narayan Debnath has set the bar too high for other animators out there.
You can enjoy this ‘one of a kind’ TV series with your friends and family. Likewise having a bowl of munchies nearby, is always a plus.
Sultanul Arefeen is a dessert-person. Tell him that it’s okay to not like maple syrup at [email protected]