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A still from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
The next few months will see a lot of new shows on television that are based on literary works. Ekta Kapoor's show 'Ye Hai Mohabbatein', (this is a working title. The show was earlier titled Mera Tera Rishta Purana) which is based on Manju Kapur's novel 'Custody', is all set to go on air next month. On the other hand, Life OK plans to bring two shows that will be based on novels - one of them will be based on Saratchandra Chattopadhyay's 'Naba Bidhan' and is titled 'Tumhari Pakhi', while sources tell us that the second show will be based on 'Gunahon Ka Devta' by Dharamvir Bharti.
Presently, there are shows like 'Saraswatichandra', 'Bade Acche Lagte Hain', 'Lapataganj - Ek Baar Phir' and 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' on air that are based on literary works. We spoke to industry experts to explore the factors responsible for this sudden interest in literary works, and the legalities involved in getting the rights to adapt a novel to a TV show.
The legal issues Legal experts tell us that only the author of the work has the right to give a go-ahead to the maker to adapt it into a TV show. "In most of the cases, the right to adapt is retained by the author. The contract with the producer clearly mentions that for the purpose of making a TV show or a film, the makers may make certain changes to the script. Moral rights, however, may be preserved by the author. As for remuneration, it depends on the bargaining power of the author, his or her popularity and the popularity of the work. There are no set industry rates for the same. In cases where the author is no more, and if 60 years have passed since the author's demise, the makers do not need to acquire any rights, as according to the law, it becomes public property. However, during the 60 year period, permission from legal heirs will be required. This gets complex if there are multiple legal heirs. Also, it is advisable to give out a public notice in newspapers and magazines stating that they are remaking a particular novel and if any person has any objection to the same, they may revert within a specified time," says Gowree Gokhale from Nishith Desai Associates.
What are the criteria? Before one gets into the legalities of getting the rights of a novel from the author, there are certain things that need to be considered. "First, the novel must be relevant in today's time. Secondly, some books lend themselves to long-running stories while some are suited for shorter versions. In terms of character and story, it has to be seen whether there is a long graph for it to be adapted to TV," says Ajit Thakur, general manager, Life OK.
How difficult or easy it is? Makers confess that it is like walking a tightrope for them when it comes to conceptualizing such shows. "You have to ensure that the soul of the novel is not lost. The writers have to understand the psyche of the author who wrote the novel. There are some novels which were written almost 100 years back and they have to be given a contemporary look, so care has to be taken that the message is not lost in its interpretation," says Ashwini Dheer, producer of 'Lapataganj - Ek Baar Phir' (Sab TV), which is based on the writings of Sharad Joshi.
Why this spurt on TV shows based on literary works? Industry experts offer different views on the trend. "As the demand for content is growing, with more TV channels, more hours of programming, people are looking for newer content. Novels are a source of readymade written material and help us in finding new ideas," opines Thakur.
Seconds Asit Kumar Modi, producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, "The novels provide fresh content. Indian literature is vast and rich and with some help from good writers, offers us a chance to adapt relevant stories to TV shows." However, there are others who blame the lack of good writers in the industry for this rising trend. "We don't have that many good writers in our industry. See, we are consuming films that are being adapted from Southern hits, and TV shows that are inspired from films. People have stopped reading these days and are not well-versed with the nuances of writing," opines Dheer.
Creative changes made Since some of the literary works were penned long back, the makers have to take some creative liberties to give them a contemporary makeover. For instance, in the novel Saraswatichandra, the protagonist is not shown as an NRI, but in the TV show, the protagonist's family is shown living in Dubai. Even though people know that in the novel, Kumud and Saras are never going to have it easy, the viewers are still hoping that in the TV show, they unite and go on to live happily ever after. "Well, I think the channel should conduct a survey to decide whether they have to unite Kumud and Saras on the TV show. While the middle-aged audiences want the story to stay true to the novel's storyline, the younger audiences want them to unite. So, it all depends on the audiences' viewpoint," says Arvind Babbal, show set-up director of Saraswatichandra.
Authors not worried about creative changes Manju Kapur, author of 'Custody' says, "When Ekta Kapoor approached me with a proposal to make a serial based on my novel, I told her legal representative to go through my UK agent to get the entire process in place. Television and novels are two different mediums. When you make a TV show based on a novel, there are bound to be some creative changes. Also, I feel that a TV show has greater reach, people tend to go back and read the novel after watching its adaptation on the screen, which is a good thing for authors."
Presently, there are shows like 'Saraswatichandra', 'Bade Acche Lagte Hain', 'Lapataganj - Ek Baar Phir' and 'Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah' on air that are based on literary works. We spoke to industry experts to explore the factors responsible for this sudden interest in literary works, and the legalities involved in getting the rights to adapt a novel to a TV show.
The legal issues Legal experts tell us that only the author of the work has the right to give a go-ahead to the maker to adapt it into a TV show. "In most of the cases, the right to adapt is retained by the author. The contract with the producer clearly mentions that for the purpose of making a TV show or a film, the makers may make certain changes to the script. Moral rights, however, may be preserved by the author. As for remuneration, it depends on the bargaining power of the author, his or her popularity and the popularity of the work. There are no set industry rates for the same. In cases where the author is no more, and if 60 years have passed since the author's demise, the makers do not need to acquire any rights, as according to the law, it becomes public property. However, during the 60 year period, permission from legal heirs will be required. This gets complex if there are multiple legal heirs. Also, it is advisable to give out a public notice in newspapers and magazines stating that they are remaking a particular novel and if any person has any objection to the same, they may revert within a specified time," says Gowree Gokhale from Nishith Desai Associates.
What are the criteria? Before one gets into the legalities of getting the rights of a novel from the author, there are certain things that need to be considered. "First, the novel must be relevant in today's time. Secondly, some books lend themselves to long-running stories while some are suited for shorter versions. In terms of character and story, it has to be seen whether there is a long graph for it to be adapted to TV," says Ajit Thakur, general manager, Life OK.
How difficult or easy it is? Makers confess that it is like walking a tightrope for them when it comes to conceptualizing such shows. "You have to ensure that the soul of the novel is not lost. The writers have to understand the psyche of the author who wrote the novel. There are some novels which were written almost 100 years back and they have to be given a contemporary look, so care has to be taken that the message is not lost in its interpretation," says Ashwini Dheer, producer of 'Lapataganj - Ek Baar Phir' (Sab TV), which is based on the writings of Sharad Joshi.
Why this spurt on TV shows based on literary works? Industry experts offer different views on the trend. "As the demand for content is growing, with more TV channels, more hours of programming, people are looking for newer content. Novels are a source of readymade written material and help us in finding new ideas," opines Thakur.
Seconds Asit Kumar Modi, producer of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, "The novels provide fresh content. Indian literature is vast and rich and with some help from good writers, offers us a chance to adapt relevant stories to TV shows." However, there are others who blame the lack of good writers in the industry for this rising trend. "We don't have that many good writers in our industry. See, we are consuming films that are being adapted from Southern hits, and TV shows that are inspired from films. People have stopped reading these days and are not well-versed with the nuances of writing," opines Dheer.
Creative changes made Since some of the literary works were penned long back, the makers have to take some creative liberties to give them a contemporary makeover. For instance, in the novel Saraswatichandra, the protagonist is not shown as an NRI, but in the TV show, the protagonist's family is shown living in Dubai. Even though people know that in the novel, Kumud and Saras are never going to have it easy, the viewers are still hoping that in the TV show, they unite and go on to live happily ever after. "Well, I think the channel should conduct a survey to decide whether they have to unite Kumud and Saras on the TV show. While the middle-aged audiences want the story to stay true to the novel's storyline, the younger audiences want them to unite. So, it all depends on the audiences' viewpoint," says Arvind Babbal, show set-up director of Saraswatichandra.
Authors not worried about creative changes Manju Kapur, author of 'Custody' says, "When Ekta Kapoor approached me with a proposal to make a serial based on my novel, I told her legal representative to go through my UK agent to get the entire process in place. Television and novels are two different mediums. When you make a TV show based on a novel, there are bound to be some creative changes. Also, I feel that a TV show has greater reach, people tend to go back and read the novel after watching its adaptation on the screen, which is a good thing for authors."
Book Talk
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
