Reboot of TV classics - Part 1: Getting out of the shadow of the originals

For those in their mid-thirties, forties and beyond, the good old days of Doordarshan shows and even the early shows on the then newly launched Zee TV and Star Plus bring about a strong nostalgia factor. People still recall long running soaps like ‘Hum Log’ and ‘Buniyaad’, social crusader ‘Rajani’, detective series like ‘Karamchand’ and ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’, Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Fauji’, ‘Tara’, ‘Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi’, ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’, ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’, ‘Chandrakanta’... the list is long.

Instead of Manga cartoons and western fare, kids had ‘Shaktimaan’, ‘Captain Vyom’, ‘Ek Do Teen Chaar’ (which starred Ali Asghar, aka, Dadi of ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’, as a child actor) to keep them company.

And who can forget the mythological blockbusters – ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharat’ – aired on Sunday mornings, when the streets of India would become deserted.

While viewers want the return of their favourite shows in a vastly different television landscape, programme producers have mostly stayed away from remaking such shows, citing the risk factors involved.

However, in recent weeks media reports have mentioned about the revival of at least three iconic shows from the 90s – ‘Shaktimaan’, ‘Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai’ and ‘Captain Vyom’.

In this two-part series, AdGully seeks to find out how the reboot of classic TV shows should be handled, especially since there is a strong nostalgia factor, and people still remember the plot and characters.

We spoke to Mukesh Khanna, who had essayed the title character of the very popular superhero ‘Shaktimaan’; Shailesh Kapoor of Ormax Media; and actor, producer and director Dheeraj Kumar. Giving the media expert’s perspective is Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group India & South Asia.

We also got a whole host of popular television actors to share with us the shows that they would want to return to television.

Mukesh Khanna on the return of ‘Shaktimaan’

When asked whether the shows from the past will be able to match up to today’s audiences’ expectations, actor Mukesh Khanna said that today’s scenario is vastly different from the one in the 90s. “Today’s kids are so addicted to the virtual life that they are not aware about the real life. Earlier, when I had essayed the role of Shaktimaan, I used to tell kids to go to temples, sit straight, walk tall, etc, but in present times, these things don’t matter.”

He added that Shaktimaan would talk about today’s problems, solve today’s problems, but at heart would remain Shaktimaan and Gangadhar. “You will not see change in the soul of Shaktimaan. The difference now will be that the plot will be changed, it will be on a higher level,” he added.

Speaking on the changes that he thought were required and the changes which were not so positive, Khanna said that though change should be there, the content shouldn’t be disturbed. “Change is nature, but change just for the sake of change is not good. The content is impaired. According to me, from then till now the content is impaired. What is hazardous in this whole thing is that if there is one ‘Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’, hundreds of versions will come up. If one show is a success and you are following it, then it is being plain lazy,” he elaborated.

He was also against changing the content merely to cater to today’s modern audience as in the case of the modern remakes of ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Ramayan’.