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BE AFRAID: Rajesh Tandon and Rajeshwari in Total Dhamaal, the first story of Darna Mana Hai

It's the mother of all screen switches. In a first of its kind for Indian viewership, a TV series is being inspired by a feature film. The bizarre Ram Gopal Varma 2004 production Darna Mana Hai, starring everyone from Sameera Reddy and Vivek Oberoi to Saif Ali Khan and Shilpa Shetty, has sparked a new series on the small screen.

To air on STAR One from next Monday, the new TV series, also called Darna Mana Hai, will feature a gripping new horror story every week, beginning on Monday and climaxing on Thursday, at 10 pm.

Interestingly, the entire series is being produced by K Sera Sera, the same team that co-produced the six-episode film along with Varma's Factory.

"We want to spread the brand called Darna," Kacon Sethi, CEO of K Sera Sera, tells Metro. "We started with the big screen and will now move on to television, then the broadband and finally wireless."

So what exactly is Brand Darna? "Darna is the philosophy of fear," explains Sethi. "Day-to-day fear is something which is bigger than any scare. That's what we are trying to show through all the episodes. We are also making the sequel to the film, called Darna Zaroori Hai."

While Darna Zaroori Hai has some of the biggest names in the TV and film industry — Ram Gopal Varma himself, Prawaal Raman (who directed all the six episodes of the first film), actor-turned-director Sajid Khan — directing the six episodes, the TV series too has known names calling the shots.

Everybody from Saurabh Shukla to Sourabh Narang (Vaastu Shastra) to Rajat Mukherjee (Road) will be directing the four-episode stories of Darna Mana Hai.

STAR One hopes that Darna Mana Hai will cash in on the prime-time popularity of the channel with hit shows like Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai, The Great Indian Comedy Show, Remix and the recent rage Nach Baliye.

Says Sameer Nair, COO of STAR TV: "The two new shows, along with India Calling, will be woven into the exciting line-up of programmes that will make prime-time viewing a whole new experience."

The series will kickstart with a story called Total Dhamaal. Directed by Sourabh Narang, it delves into the fear within parents Radhika (Rajeshwari Sachdev) and Mohit (Rajesh Tandon) when seven-year-old son Yash is ready to jump from their seventh-floor apartment under the influence of a friend.