Celebrated Indian painter, author, cartoonist and storyteller Aabid Surti was honoured with the prestigious Ram Mohan Award for Excellence in Animation at the ANN Awards 2026 on 29 August 2026, recognising his decades-long contribution to comics, literature, painting and visual storytelling.
Instituted by AnimationXpress in association with Graphiti Multimedia in honour of Padma Shri Ram Mohan in 2022, the award recognises individuals whose contribution to Indian animation reflects the passion, craft and pioneering spirit of the father of Indian animation.
Surti’s creative journey spans several decades and multiple art forms. With more than 80 books to his credit, spanning fiction, poetry, theatre, reportage and comics, he has built a body of work that reflects his imagination and ability to connect with readers.
For generations of comics and animation lovers, Surti’s name has been associated with some of India’s memorable characters. In 1963, he created the lovable and mischievous Dhabbuji, also known as The Uncommon Man, for Dharmayug, the Hindi weekly published by The Times of India. The character went on to gain millions of fans across India, including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and spiritual teacher Osho.
Surti also created Bahadur, a character that became a cultural icon and achieved cult status after appearing in Indrajal Comics. Bahadur, regarded as India’s first comic-book superhero, has remained part of popular culture and is remembered from actor Shah Rukh Khan’s childhood. Khan has reportedly framed a Bahadur poster and placed it in his office.
Surti’s creative universe extended further with characters including Inspector Azad, a favourite of actor Raj Kapoor, Inspector Vikram and Shuja. His earlier Gujarati work also included Mr. Layman in the Art Gallery. His characters were not confined to one language or generation, with several of his English comics translated into major Indian languages.
His creativity also extended beyond comics. As an author, Surti has written across genres, including novels, short stories, children’s literature and plays. His Hindi short-story collection Teesri Aankh earned him the National Award for literature in 1993.
His novel The Black Book became a widely discussed and controversial work and was translated into several languages. The book also prompted seminars and discussions in major cities across India, with debates around whether it should be viewed as a novel or as an exercise in sensationalisation. It was also shortlisted by Playboy magazine.
Surti is also an accomplished painter. His distinctive Mirror Collage technique earned critical appreciation in Japan at Expo ’70. In 1972, the Government of India’s Films Division commissioned the short film Abid to showcase his distinctive canvases and artistic technique.
What makes Surti’s journey particularly remarkable is the range of his creative expression, extending from single-frame cartoons and comic-book heroes to literature, painting, theatre and screenwriting. His work demonstrates how imagination and character can transcend formats and generations.
The Ram Mohan Award was presented by Graphiti Studios co-founder Munjal Shroff, Graphiti Studios co-founder and COO Tilak Shetty, and AnimationXpress founder, chairman and editor-in-chief Anil NM Wanvari. It is presented annually at the ANN Awards during the AM Summit to recognise creators whose work reaches remarkable heights.
The inaugural award in 2022 was presented to veteran animator and professor Dhimant Vyas. In 2023, the honour went to artist and educator Prakash Moorthy, followed by artist, educator and animation filmmaker Nina Sabnani in 2024. At the ANN Awards 2025, the award was presented to Studio Eeksaurus founder and creative director Suresh Eriyat.
With Surti joining the list of recipients, the Ram Mohan Award continues to recognise individuals whose imagination, craft and storytelling have made a lasting contribution to India’s animation and visual storytelling landscape.
