Time and again, Bollywood has been blamed for not being able to come up with original ideas. The paucity of ideas is perhaps best reflected in films that derive their 'inspiration' from the West. And as it turns out, our TV industry is suffering from the same scarcity. While a few original shows have made their mark, several TV productions have lifted their plotlines from international shows. But with the competition between channels heating up, it looks like TV shows would rather have high TRPs than worry about plagiarism.
The Hindi version of 24, starring Anil Kapoor, is the first adaptation of the show and its India rights were acquired from Fox and producer Howard Gordon by Anil Kapoor Films
Salil Sand, who has worked on many shows as a creative director, admits that the Indian TV industry lacks fresh ideas. `Writers here are not given the credit and importance that they deserve. When a show or a film is appreciated, its success is always attributed to the actors, directors or the producers. Rarely is the writer's role mentioned,` he says. Hitlist tells you which fiction shows have been lifted from their international counterparts...
Kum Kum Bhagya
Lowdown: This show, that is currently airing on Zee TV, is apparently a copy of the TV series, Sense and Sensibility, which is, in turn, based on the famous Jane Austen novel of the same name. The show revolves around a family where a lady dreams about her two daughters leading happily married lives.
Kumkum Bhagya
Sense and Sensibility
Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi
Lowdown: As the name suggests, this show is essentially about a budding romance. It is said to be a copy of the TV series, Wuthering Heights, and is based on a book of the same name. It will be aired on Colors. The show tells the story of a servant boy who falls in love with a rich girl - his master's daughter.
Meri Aashiqui Tumse Hi
Wuthering Heights
Yudh
Lowdown: This show, to be aired on Sony, has Big B playing the lead and Anurag Kashyap as series director. The show is apparently a copy of the Breaking Bad. It is about Yudhisthir Skarwar, an elite businessman who is caught in an emotional battle with his family even as he battles his rivals and health issues.
Yudh
Breaking Bad
Ek Hasina Thi
Lowdown: This show is currently aired on Star TV and it's said to be a copy of the American prime-time TV series, Revenge. Ek Hasina Thi is a suspense thriller based in Kolkata, but it's being shot in Mumbai. It it stars actors such as Sanjeeda Sheikh, Bhuvnesh Mann and Vatsal Seth in lead roles.
Ek Hasina Thi
Revenge
Comedy Nights with Kapil
Lowdown: Currently aired on Colors, Comedy Nights with Kapil is a copy of the famous British television show, The Kumars at No.42. An overwhelmingly popular show, it gave Kapil Sharma a big break and made him a star. Sharma has won awards and a great deal of recognition thanks to this highly rated show.
Comedy Nights With Kapil
The Kumars at No.42
International shows that should be remade in India
Orange is the New Black It is an American comedy drama series that revolves around a woman living in New York. It traces her life as she is sentenced to 15 months in prison for carrying drugs at the behest of her smuggler friend.
True Detective
An American crime drama series, it uses multiple timelines to show two homicide detectives hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana across seventeen years. The series has received widespread critical acclaim.
Game of Thrones
This American drama series is an adaptation of A Song of Fire and Ice, George RR Martin's series of epic fantasy novels. The show has a huge fan following across world.
Mad Men
Set in the 1960s, this period drama is about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies. It focuses on Donald Draper, one of the firm's mysterious but extremely talented ad executives.
Dexter
This drama series centres around a forensics expert who moonlights as a serial killer of criminals who he believes have escaped justice.
House of Cards
It is an American political drama that has been adapted from a BBC mini-series of the same name. It is based on a novel by Michael Dobbs.
The Big Bang Theory
This American sitcom is about a bunch of brilliant but socially awkward physicists.
Sherlock
This show revolves around detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr Watson who engage in a battle of wits and brawn to tackle a threat to all of England.
Hannibal
An psychological thriller-horror, the show is based on characters and elements from the novel, Red Dragon, by Thomas Harris. It focuses on the equation between FBI investigator, Will Graham, and Dr Hannibal Lecter, a forensic psychiatrist.