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Colors unveils first look of Hindi espionage series '24'

Colors has been known to gamble with big international format shows, but this first time they are trying this in the fiction genre. The show stars Anil Kapoor, Tisca Chopra, Mandira Bedi among others; slated to go on air in October

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Colors unveils first look of Hindi espionage series '24'

Colors unveils first look of Hindi espionage series '24'

Colors has been known to gamble with big international format shows, but this first time they are trying this in the fiction genre. The show stars Anil Kapoor, Tisca Chopra, Mandira Bedi among others; slated to go on air in October

Sohini Sen | Mumbai | August 23, 2013

publive-image (L-R) Mandira Bedi, Raj Nayak CEO, COLORS, Tisca Chopra, Abhinay Deo. Click on the image to enlarge.

In a first for Indian television, Colors has announced their new show, the internationally popular '24', now adapted to the Indian screen. The first look of the espionage series was unveiled yesterday in Mumbai. In another first, a theatrical trailer launch of a television series has been conducted in India.

The show revolves around Anil Kapoor as ATU chief Jai Singh Rathod and his race against time. What sets the show apart is that it is a fictional show but with real-time narration, which essentially means each minute of the 24 hours of the story will translate to one minute of screen time for the show, making up 24 one-hour episodes for the series in season 1.

The story, as apparent from the trailer, tells that Rathod has to face certain challenges thrown at him as ATU chief – threats to the nation and his personal problems. There is also a threat to prime ministerial candidate Aditya Singhania (played by Neil Bhoopalam). It promises to be an edgy, fast-paced and action-packed series which will notch the bar higher for Indian fiction television.

Directed by Abhinay Deo, of 'Delhi Belly' fame, the show will also star well-known actors such as Shabana Azmi, Tisca Chopra, Mandira Bedi, Anupam Kher, Rahul Khanna other than Anil Kapoor and Bhoopalam.

Anil Kapoor, who was also part of the international show from where this series has been adapted, said, “The moment I was offered to play a role in the international series, I had made up my mind to bring this iconic show to India. In fact, India is the only country outside the US to adapt 24."

Manisha Sharma, Weekend Programming Head, Colors, commented, “Yes, it is the only country which adapted the show. Many other countries showed it or telecast it in their own language. But we are the only one who re-shot it and for that we needed to write a script.”

However, will it be absolutely the same show? Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors explained, “We obviously had to change the story a bit. The story had to be rewritten. Keeping in mind the fact that India is a sensitive country and what works here might not work in another part of the world, we tweaked so that the Indian masses could relate to it. We hope this will be popular. Anil Kapoor is going to travel across the country for the promotion of the show – much like he does for his movies. And I have already tweeted the first look of the show just now. So, digital will also play a big part of the promotional campaign."

Colors has been known to gamble with big international format shows – like Big Brother (Big Boss), Dr Oz (All is Well), Dancing with the Stars (Jhalak Dikhlaja), Fear Factor (Khatron ke khiladi), etc. However, this is the first time they are trying this in the fiction genre.

Nayak commented, “24 is our first big initiative for producing a world class, international format fiction show, which we believe has the potential to change the standards of television production values and scale in India pushing all boundaries of content, production and packaging. Presented on a never-seen-before scale with a top Bollywood star as a lead protagonist, 24 promises to bring a paradigm shift for TV content in India. The success of 24 will not just be great for Colors but for the whole television industry.”

In yet another first, the show has a partner in the form of Tata Motors from day 1. The leading consumer vehicle company tied up with the show as the sponsor and launched their new 'Safari Storme Explorer Edition'. With all the high quality features of an SUV, the Storme will also be shown and used in the series, thereby showcasing what it is capable of. This cross promotion would be beneficial to both Tata Motors and the series.

"We tied up with a show like 24, not just because it was new and was going to change the way Indian television is viewed. 24 and Storme both have intense energy and are capable of action and high speed. It made sense to tie up with a show which has all the characteristics of our SUV," said Delna Avari, Head - Marketing (Passenger Vehicles), Tata Motors.

Sohini.Sen@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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