“Regional television is a fertile ground for imaginative ideas & new concepts”

Adapting a literary work for the big and small screens is nothing new. There is a rich body of work in Indian literature that has found a screen transformation across languages and regions. 

With the growing viewership and clout of regional television, we have started to see more and more content from regional television making their way into the Hindi GEC space. Long-running sitcom ‘Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashmah’ is based on a well-known Gujarati work. Star Plus’ serial ‘Kulfi Kumar Baajewala’ is based on Bengali show’ Potol Kumar Gaanwala’ aired on Star Jalsha. 

Meanwhile, some marquee Hindi shows have also been adapted for the regional small screens – be it ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (in Tamil, Kannada, Marathi and Malayalam languages), ‘SaReGaMaPa’ or ‘Bigg Boss’. Mythological show, ‘Shani’, aired on Colors, is being shot in Kannada language with local artists. 

Speaking on such adaptations, Ravish Kumar, Head, Regional Entertainment, Viacom18, remarked, “Regional to me, especially in movies, has always been a trendsetter, and when you see some great movies have specially come from Malayalam, Telugu and they all have a distinct flavour to them. Because of the cost of production being lower and more sensible, we are not scared to innovate and experiment. Regional is a very fertile ground for imaginative ideas and new concepts that are very powerful. Also, Hindi has a very talented ecosystem which again can lend itself to any different languages and which is happening within the network as you can see. My point has always been that good content works and it doesn’t matter if it is Hindi or regional or Hinglish, If it’s a good story with a strong connect can be adapted meaningfully by the market it’s going to work.” 

Deepak Rajadhyaksha, Deputy Business Head, Zee TV, noted that in the current entertainment scenario, every broadcaster is in search of stories that connect with audiences by reflecting emerging mass sentiments, touching upon issues that matter to the largest denominator and mirroring the common man's ground realities and aspirations. 

He added, “Being part of the largest media and entertainment conglomerate with a network of Hindi, English and regional channels, we believe in leveraging each other’s learnings, basing insights on each other’s successes and failures. So, be it non-fiction formats or fiction concepts, regional channels have successfully adapted what has worked on a national channel and vice versa from time to time. On our part, we invest creative energies in adapting a subject that has worked well with regional audiences when we see potential for a more widespread appeal that can entertain a larger national audience base.” 

Zee TV airs ‘Bhootu’, which has been adapted from a Bengali series of the same name which airs on Zee Bangla and features the same lead child actor – Arshiya Mukherjee.

Rajadhyaksha further said, “Any content that we adapt for a national audience comes with its fair share of improvement over the original storyline and sub plots that hold intrigue for viewers across the country. ‘Bhootu’, as a show, features tender emotions and moments between a friendly ghost, her best friend Lord Krishna, and her quest to reunite with her family. It is filled with light-hearted fun and drama which has found resonance amongst national viewers.”

For Writer & Producer Saurabh Tewari, generally it’s the storyline and the characters of original shows which are taken and over a period of time, the adapted shows take its own form.