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“Slumdog Millionaire” Anil Kapoor is back with another season of “24”, the Indian remake of a U.S. television thriller about a counter-terrorism agent.
The 24-episode series will represent 24 hours in the agent’s life, following the same real-time format that became its trademark.
Kapoor, 59, spoke to Reuters about the “grammar of television” in India and what a show like “24” has to do to succeed.
Q: Even before the first season aired, you had said doing “24” was a huge risk. Has that risk paid off?
A: (Nods). In a huge way. And this is just the beginning. There is great future for actors and technicians in television now. It’s not that there is money and respect only in films now. TV is catching up. Right now there isn’t as much money here, but there will be.
Q: What did you learn about the Indian TV audience from the first season?
A: We were learning – we didn’t know the grammar of television when we started. The Indian TV viewer has been … very spoonfed. When you watch a film, no matter how good or bad a film, it is difficult to walk out. You are in the theatre. Here, the remote is in your hand, so the biggest grammar is that how do we make something where people don’t switch the channel. You have to do a show which will compete with hundreds of channels. This is the kind of show that you will miss a plot point if you flick your remote. We have to ensure that every frame, every scene is one that people will not want to walk away from.
Q: Do you think you didn’t do that enough in the first season?
A: No, we did our best. I have not met anyone who hasn’t loved it. We only need to ensure that more people watch it now. We still need to stick to the aesthetics of the show and not get carried away. I remember when we did “Mr India”, there was another film called “Nagin” which did much more business than “Mr India”. But that doesn’t mean I should have made “Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja”. I got carried away then. Now, I am going to stick to making “Mr India”. I am going to stick to making “24”.
Q: To make sure more people watch it, do you have to scale your show down to the basic level Indian audiences are used to?
A: I think you should go with your gut. Yes, you cannot take the audience for granted. Do it the way you want to do it. That is the only way to go about it.
Q: You have also bought remake rights to U.S. series like “Modern Family” and “Prison Break”.
A: That is what I have always done. Earlier they used to copy (laughs). Now we do it legally. And these two shows will work in India. There are millions of shows otherwise. But my gut says these will work here. Human beings are the same all over the world. How sensibly we can adapt it to the Indian context is the challenge.
Q: Do you think Indians are ready to see a gay married couple on screen as seen in “Modern Family”?
A: Today, the biggest advantage is that we are not limited to television. If not for TV, I’ll do these series for the digital format. Today, no one is indispensable. It might be an actor, a director, a publisher, or a broadcaster – no one. There is always a way out.
Q: Do you think there will be a Season 3 of “24”?
A: I am not thinking about that. I am thinking of season two and my next film. And “24” is the kind of series that it won’t matter if we come back after a couple of years. Let people speculate. It will come when it has to come.
The post Q&A: Anil Kapoor on the return of ‘24’ appeared first on News India Times.
