With the Indian adaptation of popular American legal TV drama "The Good Wife" and two original shows coming up this year, director Suparn S Varma says he is "lucky" to get the best of both worlds.
Known for writing and directing Prime Video original series “The Family Man” (season two) and co-directing “Rana Naidu”, the Indian remake of American show “Ray Donovan”, Varma said his only purpose is to tell "unique" stories.
"I am lucky to do adaptations and originals at the same time, the next two (projects) are originals. Not every story can be adapted; some don’t fit with the context of emotion or culture, and some do. It is an intensive process when you are writing a show," the director told PTI in an interview here.
His latest offering is "The Trial", the Indian reiteration of "The Good Wife". The Disney+ Hotstar series revolves around Noyonika Sengupta (Kajol), who is forced to return as a practising lawyer after her husband Rajeev (Jisshu Sengupta), a judge, is imprisoned for a sex and corruption scandal.
It was a less time-consuming process with "The Trial" as it was an adaptation, observed Varma.
"Writing ‘The Good Wife’ (adaptation) took us six-seven months, while writing it from scratch would have taken a year. So, at times it reduces the time taken to write it (project). In this, my greed is to hunt for great stories which can translate to something unique and amazing. This ('The Trial') was one such story,” he added.
In order to churn out more content frequently, the director believes, streamers tend to be drawn towards backing more adaptations.
“Platforms need a lot of content because they need to put out stuff. It is a process at work; it is a juggernaut in every platform, who are seeking great stories, shows and films to be put out in 'x' amount of numbers so it is part of the whole process.
“Every platform is putting 5-10 shows a month, some are adaptations because they need that much to happen, there is only so much good (original) content that they can rely on,” he said.
"The Trial" also gave him the opportunity to dig deep into the dynamics and complexity of contemporary relationships, he said.
“It gave me a chance to discuss modern-day relationships, marriages, in a context that is much more layered, much more adult than glancing past at it in two hours. It gave me a chance to discuss two of my favourite things, ‘What if?’ and the choices that they make in life. This show takes you to those areas of psyche and heart, which is very interesting,” Varma added.
Directing Hindi cinema star Kajol in the series was a dream-come-true moment, he said.
"She is a sweetheart, heartthrob of the nation, reigning for the last 30 years. Now to see her in a different context and world altogether is amazing.” "The Trial", produced by Banijay Asia, also stars Kubbra Sait, Sheeba Chaddha, and Alyy Khan.
Up next for Varma are two original web series: "Lootere" and "Sultan of Delhi".
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