The Common Man

For the 1975 French film, see The Common Man (film).

For the 2011 film starring Ben Kingsley, see A Common Man.

The Common Man is the creation of author and cartoonist R. K. Laxman. For over a half of a century, the Common Man has represented the hopes, aspirations, troubles and perhaps even foibles of the average Indian, through a daily cartoon strip, "You Said It" in The Times of India. The comic was started in 1951.

When Laxman began to draw cartoons in The Times of India, he attempted to represent different states and cultures in India. In the rush to meet deadlines, he began to draw fewer and fewer background characters, until finally he found only one remaining - the now-familiar Common Man. The Common Man generally acts as a silent witness to all the action in the comic.

Other depictions

• The Common Man featured in a commemorative postage stamp released by the Indian Postal Service on the 150th anniversary of the Times of India in 1988.It became one of the most recogonised feature on The Times of India the largest-circulation English language daily broadsheet newspaper in the world.

• A 10-feet high bronze statue of "The Common Man" has been erected at the Symbiosis Institute, Pune.The Common Man has a wisp of white hair that is perpetually standing, leaving him with a bewildered look.
• The Common Man was the mascot for the low budget airline Air Deccan.

References

• Genesis of "The Common Man"
• Article with note on other depictions