Hispanic touch to desi serial scripts

New Delhi, Nov. 14: Indian television is stretching across continents to Latin-American production houses for scripts to suit the tube.

At a time when the saas-bahu family sagas were ruling the roost, Sony came up with an adaptation from the Mexican teleserial Yo Soy Betty La Fea and produced a winner in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin.

The popularity of Jassi is forcing more and more channels — unsure how long the saas-bahu serials will continue to fascinate the audience — to look to Spanish telenovellas for adaptations for the Indian screen. Star Plus has come up with another adaptation from a Mexican teleserial in Dekho Magar Pyar Se.

Jassi and Dekho Magar Pyar Se have been adapted from serials from the same production house in Mexico. Dekho Magar Pyar Se is an adaptation of My Sweet Fat Valentina and the theme is similar to Jassi — an ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan.

Sony and Star Plus are planning to adapt more Spanish telenovellas for the Indian audience. Hum Do Hain Na, the new Sony Entertainment Television offering for children, is also from a Spanish telenovella.

Production houses are opting for Spanish serials popular in Latin American countries because they appeal more to the Indian taste than either English or American soaps.

"Hispanic audiences like the same high-voltage family drama that Indians do," a Star Plus consultant explained.

"Most of these serials are high on drama and surcharged with emotion. Audiences here identify much more easily with such tele dramas than with American or British soaps, which appeal to just some of the viewers," she said.

"Culturally Latin Americans are close to Indians. The characters and the story line match our sensibilities," explains Tarun Katyal the executive vice-president (programming) of Sony Entertainment. "We are also able to get good written material and ideas which have been successfully tried and tested in different broadcast markets," he said.

"The key word here is adaptation," Katyal said. "A successful adaptation like Jassi has been sufficiently spruced up to suit Indian sensibilities."

Producers believe it is safer to adapt serials that are already popular in other countries than go for something untried. If the formula works well with Hispanic audiences, there is no reason for it not to find a response among Indian viewers.