Anil Kapoor: Clock starts ticking for 24

Anil Kapoor, who has bought the rights of the hit American TV series 24, started shooting the Hindi remake on Monday. Directed by Abhinay Deo, it will see the Slumdog star make his Indian television debut as special agent of the Counter Terrorist Unit, Jack Bauer a character played by Kiefer Sutherland in the original. Anil is also producing the series.

When we caught up with the team at Thakur College Aviation, it was around midnight and Anil was just coming out of his vanity van. "Today is one of the biggest days in my life. 24 is a big responsibility. And I am all set to take it head-on," the actor said, flashing us a thumbs-up, before disappearing inside an aircraft being used for the shoot.

But, it was not long before the 'chief architect' (as Abhinay Deo is fondly called by the crew), took over. "Anil has been reading up around eight hours each day to prepare himself for the scenes. During the 150-day shooting schedule, I will need him for around 120 days and on certain days, he may need to shoot for as many as nine scenes," Abhinay elaborated. On this Anil, who had by then joined us, said that he will not be working on any other project till the shooting of the first season is over.

The director's commitment to the project seemed as intense and a die-hard 24 fan, Abhinay was quick to add that he will love to come back for the next season as well. "People often ask me why I opted for television. To me, it is all about storytelling. When I was offered this project, I immediately started putting the team in place," he said

The series will be scripted by Rensil D'Silva of Rang De Basanti fame and on this Abhinay said: "Something as elaborate as this series needed a modern mindset. I had some foreign writers in mind but I knew that an Indian writer would do a better job of adapting the show as per our sensibilities. When Rensil came on board, things started to fall into place. You will also see him donning the director's hat in six episodes," Abhinay said.

As he excused himself to check on the shoot, we turned to Anil and asked him about his decision to assign Abhinay to helm the project. Anil explained: "I had seen Delhi Belly. It was a film where the performance by all the actors was consistent and realistic a difficult feat to achieve for a director. I knew immediately that I could trust this guy with this project. The Mumbai Mirror campaign further convinced me of his capabilities. I am sure he will raise the bar and provide the scale and technique required for such an international project. Also, Aamir Khan spoke highly of him. Similarly, Karan Johar was all praise for Rensil when we spoke to him. "

Anil wants to bring in the same level of efficiency into the Indian remake as the original. "I had the privilege of observing the original team at work for eight months. Television is a new medium for me. And it is a huge challenge. But I am not spending sleepless nights. And that is because I am not burdened by geniuses. All I have is a committed crew who are working passionately on the series." Most of the shooting will take place in Cotton Green and other nondescript locations in Mumbai.