Ekta Kapoor – I want to remake ‘Scandal’ on Indian TV

She is known for her saas-bahu sagas, but producer Ekta Kapoor now wishes to adapt American series “Scandal” on Indian television.

Starring Hollywood actress Kerry Washington, “Scandal” is a political thriller TV series.

Washington’s character, Olivia Pope, is said to be partially based on former George HW Bush administration press aide Judy Smith, who serves as a co-executive producer.

“I would love to adapt ‘Scandal’ where the actress falls in love with the President. We also have a single Prime Minister. So, I think that would be a superb thing to do. I don’t think it is happening in the future yet but that is something I would love to do one day,” Ekta told PTI.

Many American shows/sitcoms are getting adapted here, nowadays, and the Balaji Telefilms’ creative director feels such series can achieve success only if they are Indianised.

“I think a story needs to be solid whether it is Indian or Western, adapted or not and the story-telling should be amazing.

“Honestly, stories from the West or South-Asia or any part of the world will get adaptation only if they are told with conviction and given a local flavour. And this will be the strength of the producer and content-maker.”

The TV mogul is back with a new show “Naagin”, which is a mystical thriller series. Ekta said she wanted to re-introduce the concept of Nagin to the viewers.

“I think this concept of Nagin, this folklore is what our culture has given birth to. This is probably our legacy as far as folklore is concerned. The idea was to capture it. We wanted to upgrade the visuals but keep the story rooted,” she said.

“Naagin” is a limited series of 36 episodes, a departure from long-running daily soaps and Ekta said she did not want to stretch the drama as it airs on weekends.

“It is a weekend show, it can’t be boring and cannot go on and on… It has to be interesting. It is a complete hardcore, masaledaar show. I feel it is good to tell the story in limited time so that the audience remembers your work,” she said.

When asked if limited series will be a way forward for Balaji Telefilms, Ekta said, that would depend on the success of “Naagin”.

The show, starring Mouni Roy, Arjun Bijlani and Adaa Khan, airs on Colors.

Inputs by PTI