<p>According to Sandeep Modi, the writer and director of “The Night Manager” in India, the key to effectively adapting a global narrative for an Indian audience is to approach the script like you would a Shakespearean adaption.<img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” class=”alignnone wp-image-35582″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-director-of-the-night-manager-sandeep-modi-says-he-draws-inspiration-from-vishal-bhardwaj-and-treats-every-adaptation-like-its-a-william-shakespeare-play-images-59.jpg” alt=”” width=”998″ height=”559″ /></p>
<p>Modi should be aware since he has already done it twice. He co-directed the first season of “Aarya,” the Hindi version of the popular Dutch series “Penoza,” which starred Sushmita Sen. After “Aarya,” he took on the difficult task of translating John le Carre’s well-known book despite the fact that there was already a well-liked British translation.</p>
<p><img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” class=”alignnone wp-image-35581″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-director-of-the-night-manager-sandeep-modi-says-he-draws-inspiration-from-vishal-bhardwaj-and-treats-every-adaptation-like-its-a-william-shakespeare-play-images-58.jpg” alt=”” width=”1296″ height=”1948″ /><br />
“For me, the strategy is to ask: ‘How would you modify Shakespeare in today’s context?’ I approach every adaptation as if it were a Shakespearean (play),” Modi, who is also known as “Chumbak,” said in an interview with PTI.</p>
<p>“Vishal Bhardwaj sahab is a source of inspiration for me at times. How did he transform ‘Hamlet’ into ‘Haider’? How could he pull it off? He made the comment in reference to the filmmaker known for turning three of William Shakespeare’s tragedies—”Hamlet” into “Haider,” “Othello” into “Omkara,” and “Macbeth” into “Maqbool.”</p>
<p>When establishing a tale, Modi believes that it’s important to respect the local cultural quirks.</p>
<p>The storyline is what you take, but the people we develop and the cultural intricacies determine everything else and how the plot unfolds. The most important factor is cultural adaptability, he added.</p>
<p>Aditya Roy Kapur, Anil Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Tillotama Shome’s “The Night Manager” premiered on Disney+ Hotstar in February and was an immediate success.</p>
<p>The formula of rejecting anything that is too flawless is one that Modi, who served as the show’s creator and supervised not just the writers’ room but also other components of its creation, adamantly adheres to.</p>
<p>He said that he did not like “The Night Manager”, a highly praised 2016 British drama starring Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, and Tom Hiddleston.<img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” class=”alignnone wp-image-35588″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-11zon-750×750.jpg” alt=”” width=”1034″ height=”1034″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-11zon-750×750.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-11zon-1024×1024.jpg 1024w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-11zon-500×500.jpg 500w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-11zon-768×768.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-11zon-1536×1536.jpg 1536w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-11zon.jpg 1600w” sizes=”(max-width: 1034px) 100vw, 1034px” /></p>
<p>“I believed it could have been done better. The novel does not tell the tale of a writer who exalts espionage. He wants you to think that there aren’t any spies. He is aware that espionage is an unsavoury profession.</p>
<p>“I wanted to describe who he is before he turns into the spy. Why would a typical person who works at a hotel and doesn’t even consider himself to be a patriot endanger his life in order to become a spy? I thought it was more about guilt than it was about two guys fighting in a war, he said.</p>
<p>According to Modi, Kapoor is the ideal choice to portray weapons dealer Shelly Rungta, and the veteran actor was “surprised” when the filmmaker contacted him.</p>
<p>“He questioned me, ‘How could you see a villain in me?’” Every villain is a hero within, I replied, “Sir.” Simply said, it’s being seen from a new angle. We recognised that we wanted it to be a “David versus Goliath” scenario after he joined the team, he added.</p>
<p>Modi also sought a quiet hero, and he got one in Roy Kapur’s Shaan Sengupta, a former lieutenant in the Indian Navy who goes underground to overthrow Shelly’s hegemony.</p>
<p>“Aditya is a wonderful performer, but I don’t think he has received enough credit for his efforts. He still has more to offer. I went to meet him since he seemed like the ideal man. When we first met, he had his dog in need of care, so he opened the door. He sat and listened to the tale. For me, he prepared coffee.</p>
<p>“He is the type of individual you need when you have Anil Kapoor’s troops on your side. Always be concerned about casting being balanced. Balance is necessary for a performance like this, and that became its central theme.</p>
<p>Shome was the director’s response to Oscar winner Colman in the role of intelligence operative Lipika Saikia Rao, who is Shaan’s handler.<img decoding=”async” loading=”lazy” class=”alignnone wp-image-35585″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/www.theindiaprint.com-the-night-manager-director-sandeep-modi-recalls-how-anil-kapoor-620-11zon.jpg” alt=”” width=”1294″ height=”1294″ /></p>
<p>“I was eager to cast Tillotama personally. Who is our Olivia Colman, I wondered? Olivia is a powerful lady portraying a powerful role. I would cast a talented actor who doesn’t perform in mainstream Hindi movies but instead performs incredibly intriguing unconventional stuff. I wanted to say that what makes you powerful is not what’s on the exterior, but what’s within of you,” Modi said.</p>
<p>The filmmaker said that although he may have been secure in adapting a well-known worldwide programme for Indian fans, he now feels “anxious” about the finale matching up to the hype as the second installment is set to premiere on June 30.</p>
<p>“We were aware in four hours since the first season of the programme seemed to have crashed Hotstar’s systems. He recalled the first reaction to the series and added, “We knew the first day.</p>
<p>Because Modi didn’t want the series to debut and then be forgotten in a week, they opted to divide it into two parts.</p>
<p>We thought, “We can divide it in two and let people taste it, speak about it, and see if they like it. We don’t know whether India is ready for a weekly drop. We had faith in the narrative we had constructed. It had a pulsating heart, was imposing, shiny, and fascinating, he continued.</p>
<p>Modi has a partnership with Karan Johar in the horizon.</p>
<p>The filmmaker said, “I’m keen to tell entertaining stories that matter and stay with you even after the viewing hour.”</p>
