‘Multistar’ has been a unique feature in the history of Raj Comics, where two or more big superheroes join hands together to face a dangerous enemy or a complicated mystery. ‘Saudangi’ is also one such special episode, which pits Raj Comics’ two most popular and powerful heroes, Nagaraj and Super Commando Dhruv, against a very old and dangerous conspiracy. This comic is not only exciting to read, but is also an example of the excellent story of that period, excellent artwork, and excellent coordination of powerful characters. This issue has been written by Jolly Sinha and illustrated by Anupam Sinha. It takes forward the story of the previous episode ‘Samrat’ and immerses the reader in mystery and adventure from the very first page. In this review we will take a detailed look at the story of ‘Saudangi’, the portrayal of characters, its importance in the world of art, and Raj Comics.
Basis of the story and review of the previous episode
The story of ‘Saudangi’ directly connects to the mysterious and ancient world of Egypt. At the center of the story are pictures of Cleopatra’s palace. These pictures are not ordinary, but a map of a magical castle, which three dangerous powers are engaged in trying to achieve:
Karanavashi: Nagraj’s old and powerful enemy, who is searching for these pictures with the help of mysterious powers.
Serpenteater (Sarpkhor): The ruthless villain eating serpents, sent by Karanavashi to attack the clan of wishful serpents, the defenders of the pyramids. The presence of the serpenteater adds to the story a special “snake-tadka” of the Nagraj world.
Tuten Khamen (Tuten Khamen): King of mummies, who arrives in the metropolis with his mummy army looking for photographs.
In the previous episode, Nagaraj and Dhruv together drove away Tuten Khamen, but Tuten Khamen, who had gone, also took away a copy of Nagaraj’s powers. Meanwhile, Saudangi, a warrior from the clan of wishful snakes, understanding the crisis faced by her clan, had handed over the pictures of the palace to Nagraj and Dhruv.
From here the story takes a sad and twisted turn. Saudangi goes to Egypt with Tantra Shakti, where Karanavashi traps her in his vashikaran. Coming in his vash, Saudangi tells Karanavashi that the pictures are with Nagraj and Dhruv. Karanavashi, half-hearing, sends ‘mummy Nagaraj’ made by Tuten Khamen to the real Nagaraj. Nagraj defeats him and reaches Egypt in the form of ‘mummy Nagaraj’.
But Saudangi, trapped under Karanavashi’s spell, attacks Nagraj, causing Nagraj to get hurt and fall back to Vedacharya.
Finally, it is revealed that the picture is divided into two parts. A part is near the pole. On coming to know about this, Tuten Khamen gives one of his special powers to the serpenteater and sends him to Rajnagar so that he can snatch the other part of the picture from Dhruv.
The beginning and narrative speed of the ‘Saudangi’ issue
‘Saudangi’ begins with the serpenteater’s thinking and anger directly after the events of the previous issue. The serpenteater is irritated that Karanavashi and Tuten Khamen did not trust him completely and were talking about sending some other power with him. He has full confidence in his own strength and believes that he alone can take the picture away from Dhruv.
He reaches Rajnagar by climbing the Tantra pyramid built by Tuten. He knows he must face the sharp mind of Super Commando Dhruv, which is called the “most dangerous weapon of the universe”.
These opening pages quickly accelerate the pace of the story and clearly show that this time the villain’s challenge is not just dangerous, but very personal and full of ego.
The scene then shifts straight to Dhruv’s house in Rajnagar, where a light-hearted and lovely family moment is shown.
Dhruv and Shweta: Emotional Center
The scene involving Dhruv and his younger sister Shweta gives an emotional and human touch to the story. Shweta, whom Dhruv lovingly calls “mother-badaulat”, asks for a gift from her brother when he returns from the metropolis. Dhruv wants to relax and is preparing to go on “night patrolling” in a while, so he tries to avoid her.
Shweta’s character emerges very well in this scene:
She is mischievous, but equally sweet, and never misses the chance to tease her brother Dhruv. Besides, she is also a genius scientist. She checks Dhruv’s bag with her ‘mini-X-ray scanner’ and immediately finds the ‘gift pack’.
Seeing Shweta’s stubbornness, Dhruv is forced to remove the cloth and there he sees a picture of Cleopatra’s palace. To hide his identity and mission, Dhruv lies that it is a painting made by Saudangi, which has been given to him for safekeeping. Shweta, who specializes in catching Dhruv’s lies (“Saudangi painter since when?”), mockingly calls it M.F. Hussain’s painting and tries to snatch it.
Unfortunately, the picture breaks down in this snatching. This incident immediately creates tension in the atmosphere. Dhruv worries about answering Saudangi, and Shweta starts regretting her actions. Dhruv consoles her and tells her that he actually brought her a ‘computerized chemical analyzer’.
This scene not only adds emotional depth, but also tells an important thing: Dhruv is not able to hide even his most important and precious things from his sister, even if it is a map that saves the world.
New twist in the story: Attack of snakes and creatures
At the same time, an emergency message from Captain Karim of Commando Headquarters arrives at Dhruv’s star transmitter. ‘Peculiar snake-creatures’ have been seen at many places in Rajnagar, which are vandalizing and searching for something special. Karim also tells that a rotten snake has entered the commando headquarters itself and is directly asking Dhruv’s address.
Dhruv immediately understands that all this trouble is related to the same broken picture. Before leaving, he gives Shweta the responsibility of handling the picture, because this “is very precious” and should not fall into the wrong hands at all.
Mystery and Miracles: The Magic of the Picture
After Dhruv leaves, Shweta prepares to keep the picture in her lab’s ‘special electronic locker’. And this is where the most shocking magical moment of the story unfolds. As Shweta looks at the broken picture, she realizes that the picture has automatically joined. No crack or broken part is visible anywhere.
This is absolutely impossible from scientific thinking, so Shweta immediately assumes that this picture is literally ‘miraculous’, ‘magical’ and ‘wonderful’. She decides that she will create a very strong and special security system for this.
This event adds a fun dash of magical realism (Magical Realism) to the story. This makes it clear that what the villains are searching for so hard is not just a simple map, but a living, mysterious artifact in itself.
Strategy of Super Commando Dhruv
Dhruv directly confronts the snake creature that attacked Rajnagar. He discovers that the snake’s skin is so rotten, as if it came out of an acid drum. It shows his dangerous nature and the dark power of Tuten Khamen.
During the battle, both Dhruv’s intelligence and his tactics are fully revealed. He recognizes that these are not common snakes, but wishful snakes, which also have hands and legs, so it is very difficult to control them. When he asks them who sent them, they name the serpenteater.
Dhruv then discovers the hideout of the serpenteater: ‘Fun Park’. Dhruv immediately understands that it is useless to stop all the snakes one by one; if the head is stopped then the game is over.
He detoxifies that serpent-creature with his ‘bracelet’, thereby losing its poisonous teeth and its greatest strength. Now it is no longer a threat to anyone.
Next, Dhruv heads towards ‘Fun Park’, where he intends to eliminate the snake eater’s ‘fun’ forever.
Evaluation of Art and Writing
Anupam Sinha’s art is the true lifeblood of this multi-starrer, as his scenes and facial expressions inject every frame with amazing energy, making every character, from Dhruv and Shweta in a light-hearted home scene to the arrogant, inner nature of the snake-eater, look perfectly alive. The portrayal is dynamic, showcasing Dhruv’s shifts between calm, strategic planning and explosive action, while Shweta’s mischief and playfulness add vitality to the artwork; furthermore, the villain design of the ‘rotten snakes’ is effectively scary, dirty, and utterly distorted, immediately communicating the terrible magic or experiment inflicted upon them and signaling a big, dangerous threat. Finally, the action scenes feature dynamic paneling, particularly during the fight between Dhruv and the snake-creature, which maintains the story’s constantly fast pace, ensuring no moment feels slow.
Writing and Dialogue (Writing by Jolly Sinha)
Jolly Sinha has effortlessly managed this complex multi-starrer, employing a structural brilliance by beginning the story with a perfect, easy-to-understand recap of the previous episode, which cleverly allows new readers to enter the narrative smoothly. The story features a powerful crossover setup by bringing together Nagraj and Dhruv’s enemies—Sarpkhor, Karanavashi, and Tuten Khamen—all for the same mission, which is supported by natural and fun dialogues. The interactions, such as Shweta’s playful ‘ma-badaulat’ and Dhruv’s retorts like ‘by saying a little less!’ during their altercations, lighten the mood, while conversations during action, like Dhruv’s promise to finish ‘fun’ before going to ‘Fun Park’ with the snake eater, add flavor to the scenes. Crucially, the author excels at presenting Super Commando Dhruv’s identity by showing him fighting with his mind at every step—from mistaking the picture for the root of danger to controlling the snake in seconds and targeting the kingpin directly.
Importance and Conclusion of ‘Saudangi’
The multi-star issue, ‘Saudangi,’ from the Golden Era of Raj Comics is a powerful testament to the international-level quality of Indian superhero stories, succeeding through its complex plot extension that brilliantly weaves together Egyptian mummies, ancient secrets, wishful snakes, and modern technology like Dhruv’s star transmitter and Shweta’s lab. The story achieves deep emotional engagement through lovely yet tension-filled scenes between Dhruv and Shweta, which intensifies both the suspense and the feeling of danger for the reader. A key moment is the revealing of the mystery, where the automatic addition to a picture introduces an extremely interesting twist of magical realism, clearly signaling that the upcoming fight will be dominated by mystic power, not just physical combat. Although primarily focused on Dhruv, this issue is a great gift for both Nagraj and Dhruv fanbases, concluding on a powerful turn as Dhruv heads to ‘Fun Park’ to confront the serpenteater, leaving the reader anticipating Nagraj’s next move.
Final decision:
‘Saudangi’ is a high-quality, fast-paced multistarrer comic, which features a complex plot in a very easy way, with great art and tightly written scripts.
This is one of the most memorable issues of Raj Comics.
Its plot, character balance, and last-page mystery make it a must-read.
This is a completely satisfying read for Raj Comics lovers.
