If you recognise 10 of these guys, you're a star

Both KT artists, qualified in the final honours list at the 12th World Press Cartoon contest

Two sketches made news in this part of the world recently. A caricature of Fidel Castro drawn by PR Rajendran and one of Cristiano Ronaldo by AU Santhosh Kumar, both KT artists, qualified in the final honours list at the 12th World Press Cartoon contest. An independent organisation, World Press Cartoon honours submissions that take a retrospective view of the world and present current affairs with a sharp eye and, of course, with a stroke of humour. KT's art director, Roberto Canseco says, "The sarcastic nature of caricature requires a certain knowledge and set of creative skills to be able to draw readers into the story or the page."

And what does caricature mean to the artists? How dear is this notion of being an illustrator? It's the most important thing, they say, not so easy to put in words. But they could probably draw it. "It is the commitment of an illustrator to leave a lasting impression in the minds of the readers, no matter what the subject," feels Rajendran. Back in 1994, Rajendran's job was to cut and paste bromides of the day's news on grids (steel plates). But that wasn't what the artist in him wanted and he veered back to sketching, a move that evidently paid off.

This is the sixth time Rajendran has brought the World Press Cartoon honours to Khaleej Times. Santhosh has won four times previously. "For me," Santhosh says, "working on a caricature means focusing on a subject's most prominent expressions, their features and presenting them in a humorous way." Nor is Santhosh biased when it comes to evoking laughter. He happily confesses enjoying even silly jokes. And then there's observation, that all-important skill: "I love to watch people, pay attention to their mannerisms, the way they gesticulate, etc," says Santhosh. "In my school days, my parents used to take my sister and I to the movies. Films have been my passion since then. I started to study how these actors transform themselves on screen. And I would practise drawing their expressions. It helped me later to create character expressions when I started my career as an artist. All thanks to my parents!"

Rajendran adds, "It's great to be selected from thousands of entries from among places as far and wide as Brazil, Ecuador, France, Greece, Iran, Italy, Serbia and Switzerland". Santhosh agrees with his pal, "It feels great when our works are displayed at an international event like this."

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