Filmmaker NIKKHIl Advani says he has adapted the Israeli series, Hatufim, on which the US TV hit Homeland is based, with an Indian perspective. It is all set to air on Star Plus. By Jigyasu Joshi
Homeland is back in a desi avatar. And we don’t know how to feel about it. Director-producer Nikkhil Advani is making his small screen debut with his perspective and adaptation of the Israeli series, Hatufim, titled P.O.W-Bandi Yuddh Ke. While his movies like D-Day more than qualify him for this, his recent bombs likeHero and Katti Batti give us a reason to think twice. But Advani is upbeat, saying he always intended a TV show on this subject and not a film, given its spatial and in-depth concept. And certainly, he is not walking the “inspired” path, he is doing it simply because he wanted to unfurl this narrative for a long time.
“We see how the television industry in the West is putting a great amount of effort in producing shows like Game of Thrones, Homeland, Quantico and many more. It is more like a six-hour film put together. But the Indian television scene is still finding its way out of the saas bahu melodrama. The Indian audience has shown that it is reactive to good content too. So we thought of bringing this story, which is vast, on the small screen. Actually in a digital world, the size of the screen doesn’t matter”, said Nikkhil. “The TV audience gets religiously devoted to shows they like. This, as a director, gives me an opportunity to earn their loyalty”, he added.
This drama-political thriller revolves around two prisoners of war from the Kargil War, who escape a Pakistani prison and are reunited with their families after 17 years. “While we were writing for PoW, I asked everyone to not think about how to write it for television. Because I don’t care how television was in the past. I didn’t want the storyline to get compromised just because it is another format”, said Nikkhil. “I even had a fight with a television writer because she said that I’m a fool doing this”, he recalled.
Nikkhil is fairly confident that this project will set a benchmark. “When I screened the pilot of PoW, I got a standing ovation from all the people in the room”, he said, pride writ large. “Also, this story is not just about prisoners of war. It is more about their families for whom the war doesn’t get over for a lifetime”, he added. Purab Kohli plays one of the prisoners and Amrita Puri his wife. Sandhya Mridul plays the role of Nazneen, wife of another prisoner Imaan, played by Satyajeet Misra. “It is very important for the people with whom you are working, to have faith in you. And I was fortunate enough to work with the group of actors who trusted my work”, the director said.
How challenging was it to remake a series, for the Indian audience, which was originally made with an entirely different backdropIJ “It was extremely challenging for us. In Hatufim, it is about the prisoner exchange which doesn’t happen in India. So to make that relevant, we gave it the backdrop of prisoners from Kargil War who escaped. However, the common aspect between Hatufim and PoW is the emotions of the prisoners. It is the same, whatever may be the context”, said Nikkhil. However, his recent successful project,Airlift, which he produced, raises our hope for his television debut. “Patriotism has been a subject very close to my heart. With this show, I would like to bring the untold journey of the prisoners of war who are not captive in chains, but live with hope in their every moment”, he concluded. The 126 episode finite series is scheduled to be aired this October on Star Plus.