The Spanish version of one of Tintin’s most famous tales, The Blue Lotus, has been withdrawn from the bookstores due to its bawdy content. The book entitled The Pink Lotus contains graphic sex scenes that may raise the eyebrows of parents with young children, say reports. The book was withdrawn after the pressure from Herge’s estate, which controls the rights to the work of the Belgian writer Georges Remi.

The estate claims that the book by Spanish author, Antonio Altarriba, “perverted the essence of the personality” of Tintin. It put pressure on the book’s publisher, Edicions de Ponent, and distributors to ensure that it would not appear in bookshops again.

In the book, Tintin is depicted in his 30s instead of the ageless character beloved of generations of children. Many of his contemporaries have disappeared, and the famous journalist is undergoing something of a midlife crisis. The Belgian tabloid journalist has been shown to have affairs with various women.

Disheartened Altarriba said that he would never write about Tintin again. — ANI

Book on Sivaji Ganesan

A new book by S. Theodore Baskaran Sivaji Ganesan: Profile of an Icon in the memory of Tamil actor Sivaji Ganesan and part of a series on the legends of Indian cinema has been released recently.

In his illustrated book on Sivaji Ganesan, Baskaran traces the life and times of a 10-year-old who ran away from home, walked 60 km from Palakkad to Pollachi to join a street theatre company and grew into one of Tamil cinema’s greats.

Sivaji Ganesan became famous in films following his lead role Parasakthi in 1952. Ganesan was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1997, and the French government awarded him the title Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts in 1995. — IANS

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