Adaptation wasn’t easy, producer tells American Bazaar.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: The secret behind the success of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, which is one of the most celebrated shows on Indian television, is its everyday humor and the likeability of its characters, according to its producer Asit Kumar Modi.
“It has characters that are very relatable, such as Jethalal [Champaklal Gada], Popatlal [Pandey], Daya [Jethalal Gada] ben,” Modi told The American Bazaar during a recent visit to Washington. “They seem like people next door.”
The show, based on a column in the Gujarati weekly Chitralekha, titled “Duniya Ne Oondha Chashmah,” by humorist Taarak Mehta, has been on air on SAB TV since July 2008. It has a loyal audience in the United States as well.
Modi said he produced Taarak because he wanted to move away from the “Saas-Bahu daily soap,” which was the staple of Indian television in the 2000s.
Adapting Mehta’s stories weren’t easy, he said.
The original story was set in a ‘chawl’ system, which is unique to Mumbai. He changed the backdrop and turned it into a cooperative society for the present-day audience. Many TV channels rejected the show, prior to SAB TV commissioning it.
Mehta, who has written more than 1,500 weekly columns beginning in 1973, won Padma Shri from the President of India earlier this year.
Modi, who also produces SAB Khelo SAB Jeeto, which runs on SAB TV, and Pyaar Mein Twist, which is on STAR Plus, said he believes in making television serials that are a complete family entertainment.
“In my shows, every family is portrayed realistically, as in Pyaar Mein Twist and Krishnaben Khakhrawala,” he said. Krishnaben, another drama written and produced by Modi ran on Sony TV from September 2010 to November 2011.
Modi’s loyalty to cast, crew and set is another thing that sets him apart from other producers in the Indian entertainment industry. “I don’t believe in changing the cast, crew, or the technicians — I have had the same set of people for over 7 years,” he said.
Modi said “this journey has been very challenging” and he “owes it all to his wonderful team.”
The Mumbai-based producer was among the first nine citizens of India nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to promote his Clean India campaign.
Since producing Hum Sab Ek Hain in 1995, Modi’s Neela Tele Films Private Limited has produced a number of shows for Indian television. Asked about his future plans, Modi said he wants to produce a feature film.
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