Small on Big Screen

Mehra may be fortunate on this front,but not every filmmaker who has adapted a television show into a film,can feel the same way. Anand Mahendroo’s Dekh Bhai Dekh—The Movie,the adaptation of the popular serial by the same name with Shekhar Suman in the lead,has been in the making for more than two years. Despite Khichdi—The Movie’s release last year,JD Majethia’s next venture,Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai,has failed to get past the pre-production stage. “When a serial goes off air after two to three years,the common reason is that it has run its course and the audience has lost interest. So bringing back the same show as a film is a big risk,” says film critic Indu Mirani.

These films are often also not promoted the way star-studded Bollywood ventures are. Majethia,during the release of Khichdi,had stressed on the importance of marketing. But his efforts paled in comparison with those by the makers of Robot and Anjaana Anjaani,the two films which released alongside Khichdi. And though Mehra is wiser than that to release Office Office during a week that will see no big budget rivals,he also understands that his film cannot enjoy the luxury of lavish promotional activities. “When a movie is made within a strict budget,you cannot go overboard with the marketing expenses,” Mehra admits.

Besides,for star-struck Indian cinema-goers,television actors are just not that big a draw to spend ticket money on. But there is little choice in that matter. “The audience is used to seeing Satish Shah as the father in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. We obviously cannot replace him with Amitabh Bachchan. That will be so inappropriate,” Majethia explains. But Mehra feels that an attempt to sign on a big cast won’t work either. “Even if we approach stars,they will not be able to connect to the script the way the existing actors do. They have lived with those characters for years.”

Yet,feeble attempts are made. For example,Dekh Bhai Dekh—The Movie and Office Office have Adhyayan Suman and Gaurav Kapur respectively,as part of the cast. But as Mirani points out,the hindrances are far too many. “We are so used to watching these shows for free on television,that they lack the big screen appeal.”

So what continues to draw filmmakers to these adaptations? Mehra takes hope in the fact that Khichdi wasn’t a complete failure. “Content has proved to be the winner,” Mehra points out. Besides,with the rise in the adaptation trend,be it of South Indian or Hollywood films or of teleseries,there may still be a chance that the audience will come to the theatres in order to watch what their favourite characters are up to.