Another Day at The Office

In 2001,actor Pankaj Kapur immortalised the image of the common man into his character,Musaddi Lal Tripathi,a man bogged down by the corrupt system,in the tele-serial,Office Office,which aired on SabTV.

Director Rajiv Mehra reignites the common mans concerns in the film version of the popular tele serial,Office Office

In 2001,actor Pankaj Kapur immortalised the image of the common man into his character,Musaddi Lal Tripathi,a man bogged down by the corrupt system,in the tele-serial,Office Office,which aired on SabTV. At times,Kapur metamorphosed into a hapless shopkeeper running to authorities for his misplaced courier,or as a pensioner fighting for his dues. A decade later,and Musaddi Lal will now be seen on the big screen,in a film,Chal Musaddi – Office Office. This time Kapur portrays the character of a retired school master. In 2004 itself,we thought of evolving Pankaj Kapurs character into a film. But the channel (Sab TV) wanted to go ahead with the tele-series as it was delivering high TRPs, says director Rajiv Mehra,who is looking at a August 5 release

of his film.

The first season of the show aired on Sab TV between 2001- and 2004. Then in 2006,Star One bagged the rights for the new season,called Naya Office Office. The show went off air in 2008,once the season ended. We resisted the idea of going ahead with another season for the show and brainstormed on the script of a film, adds Mehra,who was also the director of tele-serial. In 2009,he sat down with producer Ashwani Dheer,of Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge fame,who has written the script for the film. Contrary to the show,the film follows a linear narration and begins with Musaddi Lals distraught behavior at his wifes death. And following a slip up on the part of government authorities,who list him as dead,Musaddi Lal encounters several obstacles in an attempt to convince them that he is alive in order to claim his pension. We needed to keep the flavour of the film as satirical and witty as the original show. So we have chosen one character graph for Musaddi Lal and weave his various problems around that, explains Mehra.

The entire technical team including the camera persons,and actors have been retained from the original serial including actors Sanjay Mishra,Deven Bhojani,Manoj Pahwa,Hemant Pandey and Asawari Joshi. The producers did not want to tamper with the charm of the original serial, explains Mehra,who in the past has directed films like Chamatkar (1992) and Ram Jaane (1995). This film marks his return to cinema after a long hiatus and as he reasons,I produced 10-15 shows in between. TV is like a monster,it consumes you.

The only addition to the cast has been in the form of actors,Farida Jalal and VJ-turned-actor Gaurav Kapoor,who essay the roles of wife and son,respectively. For now,Mehra hopes to return to TV,after a three-year gap. I have a few scripts in hand,which I will be pitching to channels post the

release of the film.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
Pankaj Kapur