5 Bollywood inspired Tellywood Tracks

Visual entertainment is one of the few harmless addictions in India. It is an inescapable medium whose magnetizing effect only amplifies with time. Every now and then, we come across pre-owned concepts wrapped in opaque foils of new age drama. We've seen Bollywood ape the West; we've seen Bollywood ape other regional industries; we've seen them all and while we've liked some, we've criticized many. But we seem to readily accept and overlook, and sometimes even enjoy the small screen adaptations of our Bollywood flicks. Read on to know BollyCurry's take on some of the successful and not-so-successful ones.

So the STAR One show tops the list because it rarely indulged in originality. Its very inception was based on the tried-and-tested formula of love in the air (literally) by STAR Plus' popular show Saara Akaash (2003). Few months in to the story of Chhoona Hai Aasman (2007), a college drama similar to Main Hoon Na (2004) was introduced. A fellow commander also attempted the saree-clad Sushmita Sen act, but wasn't quite convincing. Despite having the heartthrob Iqbal Khan and a promising star cast, the series lost its real intention midway and bid goodbye in less than a year's time.

Pilot: October 15, 2007

Finale: July 10, 2008

 

Vaguely inspired from Rajshri Productions' sleeper hit, the STAR Plus show was originally supposed to be about society's bias based on skin colour. The show, just like Vivah (2006) explored the bond between two cousin sisters and how their small town matrimonial prospects discriminated between them due to their skin tones. Co-incidentally Alok Nath was roped in to play the fairer sister's supportive uncle in both the adaptations. Protagonists Sara Khan and Parul Chauhan shot to instant fame as the show became a massive hit overnight. Later it indulged in a lot of daily soap kitchen-politics and time leaps before eventually the makers decided to pulled the plug.

Pilot: October 8, 2007

Finale: November 13, 2010

 

Rajshri Productions came up with a decent, but a not so authentic, show two years after the release of YRF's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) on the now defunct NDTV Imagine. Loosely based on similar character sketches, some saas-bahu drama and side-plots about domestic violence, the series also witnessed a dance competition similar to the parent film but on a smaller scale. The rapport between the lead couple Shubhangi Atre and Shaleen Bhanot was compared to Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma's silver screen romance. The show had a short on-air run but managed to garner audience's appreciation.

Pilot: January 18, 2010

Finale: September 9, 2010

 

The biweekly series was the official small screen remake of the Shahid Kapoor-Kareena Kapoor Khan starrer Jab We Met (2007). But even the influential subject and inputs from the movie's director Imtiaz Ali could not boost the TRPs. Also, we cannot deny the fact that then debutante Pavitra Punia and model-turned-actor Siddharth Shukla failed to match Kapoor and Khan's acting prowess. Overall, the STAR Plus show was declared a flop and went off-air sooner than we realized.

Pilot: January 29, 2011

Finale: July 10, 2011

 

Despite public outrage and controversy, Ekta Kapoor leaves no stone unturned to reproduce her vision on the screen, be it the big one or the small. One such example is the Zee TV series Jodha Akbar, which was admitted to be influenced from Ashutosh Gowariker's magnum opus Jodhaa Akbar (2008). Except for the backdrop and chronology of events, Kapoor began exploring her fetish for the supernatural with this historical drama. No myth missed the chance of starring in a Balaji series - blackmagic, vishkanya, naagin, re-birth, etc. The only aspect that helped maintain the show's popularity was the romantic chemistry between Rajat Tokas and Paridhi Sharma, who played the titular roles. The show was declared a hit and its success paved way for the era of period dramas on television.

Pilot: June 18, 2013

Finale: August 7, 2015

Writer: Anushka J.

Editors: Pooja B. and Gunia K.

Graphics: Ayesha S.