Mascot Mondays: Air India’s ‘naughty but nice’ Maharaja

Air India’s equity may have taken a beating in recent years due to relentless controversies. The newest in public memory is the unfortunate “pee-gate” debacle. But even under the bludgeonings of chance, if there’s one head that’s bloody but unbowed, it’s the Maharaja’s – Air India’s unflappable mascot.

The cherubic face, hands folded, the closed eyes and a beatific smile, everything about the Maharaja spells warm cordiality.  He’s also a symbol of the air carrier’s heydays; when Air India ruled the skies. Sometimes naughty and sometimes nice, this is Maharaja’s story as we know it.

Sorab Kaikushroo Kooka or Bobby Kooka may not ring any bells for many today, but he was the man who envisioned Air India’s timeless mascot. Kooka was hired in 1938 by the Tata Group airlines (then named Tata Airlines) as commercial director.

Back then, the airlines faced stiff competition from global carriers like PanAm and Air France. For Air India to stand out, it had to hard sell its proposition of The Great Indian Hospitality.

Kooka enlisted Umesh Rao, an artist with J. Walter Thompson in Mumbai to bring this mascot to life. Thus the Maharajaa was born in 1946.

“We call him a Maharajaa for want of a better description. But his blood isn’t blue. He may look like royalty, but he isn’t royal,” said Kooka about his beloved creation.

The flight of the Maharaja

Over the years, the Maharajaa became synonymous with Air India, and would go on to win numerous awards for the company. “To millions of travellers, the Maharaja with his inimitable style, charm and wit is a very real person. He is almost like a friend to every Air India traveller. A friend who reaches out with warmth and hospitality, even to the farthest corners of the world,” said Air India.”

Long before Amul did the iconic topicals, Air India created delightful ones with the itinerant Maharaja in various avatars from around the world. In Tokyo, he donned a kimono and even indulged in sumo wrestling. In Geneva, he enjoyed beer. He sold flowers in Europe and rowed a sampan in Hong Kong.

At times, he even got a little cheeky, showcasing his bold side for a few chuckles. For instance, he appeared as a Playboy bunny in a London poster. He even sold “naughty pictures” in the back alleys of Paris. As a coast guard at Sydney's Bondi Beach, the Maharaja also ogled at scantily clad women through binoculars.

In one poster for Rome, the emperor is shown sneakily stealing coins out of the wishing well.

These colourful portrayals of the mascot fleshed him out into a complex character with machinations of his own, unlike the two-dimensional, goody-two-shoes mascots we were used to. He had a sense of humour and didn’t care about being judged. He was bawdy and we liked it.

Like the Amul moppet, the Maharaja also weighed in on topical issues, commenting even on world politics.

The people's king

Like every other monarch, Maharaja also had his fair share of critics with some even planning a coup to remove him. They argued that given India's socialist democratic present, the Maharaja -- a symbol of India's feudal past -- won't be a good representative of the country's national airlines. In 1989, they succeeded in dethroning the mascot, but support for the Maharaja came not from royalty but from the plebian quarters. Indians developed such an affection for him that Air India had to bring the mascot back.

Not too long ago, even the Narendra Modi government wanted to replace him with a common man, but luckily, nothing came to fruition, and the Maharajaa has maintained his unopposed reign ever since. Here's hoping Air India and the Maharaja tide through these turbulences and further enrich their legacy together.