"24: India" To Air on Viacom18's Colors Channel Summer 2013

[JamesG]

Slumdog Millionaire's Anil Kapoor to Play Indian Jack Bauer (Exclusive)
11/9/2011
by Lacey Rose


The hero of Fox's "24" is making his way to India.

Slumdog Millionaire's Anil Kapoor, who played Kamistan President Omar Hassan in the final season of the long-running counterterrorism action series, will star in a local iteration of the show and help usher Jack Bauer into his home country.

"The timing could not be better," says Kapoor, noting that such topics as terrorism and upheaval are top-of-mind for Indian viewers. "It's very, very relevant over here."





The adaptation was born out of Kapoor's passion for the series, which he brought to the attention of showrunner Howard Gordon during filming on the U.S. version's eighth season.

Kapoor recalls Gordon telling him that he would help under one condition: that Kapoor play the Indian Jack Bauer.



Gordon in April 2010 introduced the star to Marion Edwards, head of international television at 20th Century Fox, which began a year-and-a-half process to finalize a deal to license the series to Kapoor's production company, the first step in bringing the real-time drama format to India's broadcasters.

"Unfortunately, India has a much closer relationship to terrorism than the U.S. does," notes Edwards. "They've had hotels taken over, they've had bombings, they've had people killed in the streets."







Kapoor, whose clout as a film star in India helped move the project along, hasn't decided what the home country or motivations of the series' terrorists will be but ensures that his character will be relatable in the same way Kiefer Sutherland's was to U.S. viewers when the series about a counterterrorism unit debuted 10 years ago, two months after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Although no other international deals have been struck for the series, Edwards has been approached about local productions in Japan and the Middle East. It's part of a larger push by the News Corp. division, which has had success with local versions of "Prison Break" and "How I Met Your Mother" in Russia, with "Bones" on the way.







Recognizing the potential gains that rival Sony has realized with formats such as "Married ... with Children", Edwards' team is negotiating to bring older half-hour efforts "Malcolm in the Middle" and an updated "The Wonder Years" to foreign markets, with a deal already in place for "Modern Family" in Israel.

"Fox was a little later to get into the game compared with some other studios," Edwards acknowledges.

"The shows that we're known for are ones like '24' and 'Prison Break', which are serialized, expensive and difficult, and for that reason, it has been a little tougher for us to find those partners who can give these shows what they need to become fully realized."







Next steps for "24: India", as it's being called internally, will include hiring a writing staff and casting the series, which at least early on will closely resemble the story arc of the U.S. iteration.

Kapoor intends to have the series on the air in 2012, but his schedule, which has included filming and promoting Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol, has not made it easy.

Among the many facets that excite Kapoor is the clear departure that the big-budget, serious drama will offer Indian audiences, who are more accustomed to lighter family fare that skews female.

Says the star, "It's going to be a game-changer."

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...or-play-259008

[JamesG]

Indian Version of "24" to Air on Viacom18's Colors Channel (Exclusive)
11/26/2012
by Nyay Bhushan


Jack Bauer has a new mission: reaching out to India's estimated 150 million TV households. Leading actor Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) will portray the Kiefer Sutherland character in the Indian version of Fox's hit "24" show which will air on Hindi entertainment channel Colors by summer 2013.

The outlet is owned by Viacom18 Media, a joint venture between Viacom Inc and leading Indian broadcasting group Network18.





The Hindi version of "24" is the first ever adaptation of the show, the India rights for which were acquired from Fox and 24 producer Howard Gordon by Anil Kapoor Film Co.

Kapoor had guest starred in the original's season finale in 2010, playing the leader of a Middle Eastern nation. Gordon in April 2010 introduced Kapoor (who is repped by ICM) to Marion Edwards, head of international television at 20th Century Fox, which began a year-and-a-half process to finalize a deal to license the series to Kapoor's production company.



“The Indian Jack Bauer is also constantly torn between the family and the country. He has an army background which we have maintained and the show will have an anti-terrorist cell like the original's CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit),” Kapoor told THR.

He added, “It will be very real and related to the Indian ethos. Most of the show will be shot on real locations in Mumbai, a city which has witnessed many incidents considering it is India's commercial capital. There will be scenes with hundreds of thousands of people.”







The first season of the Indian version of "24" will be helmed by award winning commercials-turned-film director Abhinay Deo (Delhi Belly). While pre-production has already commenced, the show is eyeing a January shooting date. The show will be penned by leading Bollywood scriptwriter Rensil D'Silva (Rang De Basanti) and supervised by the Colors programming team lead by Manisha Sharma.

While a production budget was not given, Colors CEO Raj Nayak told THR “this is going to be one of our big scale budgeted shows – as big as one of our non-fiction reality shows.” Colors is home to "India's Got Talent" and Indian versions of "Big Brother" and "Fear Factor".

“For the first time anybody is trying this on Indian TV,” added Nayak. “Also, no major Indian film star has done a fiction show with massive production values. We have a cast of 80-90 people. And its another first to have a show with a season which will have 24 episodes.”







In terms of audience profile Nayak is clear that the show will be aimed at “the masses in the small towns and interiors of India who have not seen the original. Of course, the urban English speaking audiences will obviously be curious and draw comparisons with the original.”

Given the show's production values, Fox will offer expertise and inputs as Kapoor explained: “They have been very supportive and helping us. We will have some production crew coming in from LA for stunts and action. And even the Indian talent is of international calibre. Some of the show's original producers have come over and the idea is to have the same kind of work culture and value systems which I experienced during my stint on 24. This wouldn't have happened without the support of Howard Gordon and Marion Edwards.”

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...acom18s-393951

[PrettyinPink55]

That's freakin' awesome!!!

Too bad I don't get Colors, though!!

As a big fan of Indian soap operas, which are almost always the same plot over and over again...lol, this should be a breath of fresh air!!