BBC, Banijay Execs Unpack International Series Adaptations in India at Film Bazaar: ‘Transposing Is Where the Magic Happens’

variety.com:

Naman Ramachandran A panel of leading television executives and creators at Film Bazaar discussed the intricacies of adapting international series for Indian audiences.

Banijay Asia’s Mrinalini Jain said that successful adaptations require more than simple translation. “There is a very fine line between translating a format and transposing it, and transposing is where the magic happens,” Jain said, citing how “The Good Wife” was reimagined as “The Trial” with two daughters instead of a son and daughter to explore different emotional dynamics within an Indian family context.

Creator Suparn S. Varma (“Ray Donovan” adaptation “Rana Naidu”) pointed out that not all international hits translate effectively to Indian screens. “Every story doesn’t translate.

For example, someone offered me ‘Peaky Blinders.’ I love ‘Peaky Blinders,’ but it doesn’t translate into an Indian show because it’s so ingrained in the ethos of the culture there, society there [U.K.], that you can’t just translate that and transpose it in the Indian milieu, it won’t work,” Varma said.