Bollywood actors like Anil Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Anupam Kher will finally be coming to your television screens. But this time, not as judges on contests or on reality shows, but on a proper televised fictional show.
The show in question is ’24’ and its first episode will be screened tonight. As the title indicates, it is the Indian version of the internationally renowned show ’24’ which is a thriller that takes place in real-time.
A newer type of television content from what Indian audiences are used to on Indian television; if you haven’t yet made up your mind about the show, let BusinessOfCinema give you a few reasons to watch it.
Anil Kapoor: He’s made a pretty huge name for himself, hasn’t he? From ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ to appearing in the original ’24’, it is all due to him that India is getting a TV show like this. Anil Kapoor is surely going to be all over the show, and his presence will sure get people talking.
The Support Cast: Mandira Bedi has been a regular presence on television, but here she’ll be portraying the role that Nina Myers has in the original. Her new look impressed everyone at the show’s launch. Let’s hope her character in the show impresses everyone too. There’s also Tisca Chopra, always stellar is whatever little she takes up.
The Guest Appearances: So far Shabana Azmi and Anupam Kher are known to have small roles in the series. But Anil Kapoor has enough star power to get a lot more Bollywood friends on the show. And we’re sure he has!
The Crew: Abhinay Deo has a black comedy hit in ‘Delhi Belly’ under his belt, so we’re hoping he can make the switch to political thriller fairly well. The writing is by Rensil D’silva (‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Kurbaan’) and by Bhavani Iyer (‘Black’, ‘Lootera’) so we hope these minds can maintain the pace and weight of the show.
The Ambition: A season consisting of 24 episodes of an hour each, set in real-time. We know America can do it, but in India this TV show can open up many avenues ahead. People are used to soap operas, but if ’24’ is good and succeeds with the audience too, then things could change a lot on Indian television in the years to come.
