24

It puts a huge amount of pressure on the makers and generates equal amount of expectations from the viewer's when you recreate a show that has won many international awards including Golden Globe and Emmy and is loved by fans all over the world.24 (international version) is such a show which had created a genre in itself in Action-Drama segment of television shows. Being one of the highest rated and the longest running espionage themed television drama ever it proudly sits in all its glory as one of Americas finest shows ever produced. Recreating such a classic for an audience which is not accustomed to watch anything except Saas- Bahu Opera is a feat in itself but it requires extreme clarity of vision nonetheless and a good production house and (financial backing) and capable actors to adapt an international genre to suit the domestic taste.24 (Indian version) has that clarity of vision, the backing of influential producers and credible actors, but is that enough? Indian 24 as the international version is a thriller which revolves around the political assassination of the to-be prime minister and Jai Singh Rathor's race against time to foil the plot and save the countries future as well as his family from the clutches of terrorism simultaneously uncovering the conspirators behind the event. Each episode is a real time depiction of 1 hour of rathors life, rather the most important day of his life. It uses the similar split screen technique as the original to depict multiple scenes occurring at the same time. The beauty of the original series lied not in the fast pace or the action sequences but in the complexity of the characters, every character had depth and the drama that evolved out of those complex characters was the where the real beauty of 24 lied and I must say the Indian version beautifully captures that essence more or less because it follows the same pattern as the original. There is a to-be prime minister with a dark past which no one is aware of, Rathor has skeletons in his love closet, Nikki (Rathors ex) is still in love with him but is in relationship with another co-worker, rathors daughter is beautiful and irritating a major distraction for rathor from his job and from the central plot for the viewer. All this goes on along with the high level plot to assassinate India's youngest prime minister who has all the countries hopes pinned on him.Will Jai Singh Rathor succeed in saving his family and country both or will he have to pay the ultimate sacrifice? Follow the series to find out. The story/screenplay 24 of is well crafted and is rock solid as it is based on a similar skeleton as the original, I guess that was how the original creators wanted it to be. Overall the show looks promising as it has an ensemble cast of promising actors helming pivotal roles(Anupam Kher,Mandira Bedi,Shavana Azmi,Anil Kapoor,Tisca Chopra etc) in the story. For people who have followed the original series till all 8 seasons you can miss couple of episodes and still you won't lose track but for people who are new to 24 .Watch it and savor the taste as it is definitely not something that you would have seen before.

I was waiting for a long time for any such American TV series to come to India. Almost all TV Series of India are filled with crappy and endless melodrama. These nonsense family shows are just a commercial venture that have spoiled our TV cinema. Not even a single of those directors even have some respect for this art and thats why no such serials as 24 came out.

YRF Television brought us some good stuff that were having a limited and nice script and casting was also good. One of my favourite was Kismat http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1848141/?ref_=fn_al_tt_7 . These too were able to reach a limited population because of their late timings.

Now, Anil Kapoor, a great Indian film actor, after playing a small role in American TV Series 24 took step to bring us the same quality stuff. It was a risky attempt but he did a handsome amount of promotion and chose the most famous channel for his show. I would love to thank 24 cast and crew for bringing to us this special series and also congratulate them for its success opening.

After analyzing the 1st episode, I can say that the script is a nice one with a good amount of suspicions and thrills with a few 'Bollywood specific' errors that can be ignored. Casting is also excellent with Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Tisca Chopra and many more good actors. I am hoping for its best in the future and may the public like it too.

It is the way to the Indian TV future.

To start it, let me be very clear here. I am a huge huge huuuuge fan of the original 24 series. It's the show that made me addicted to American seasons. I was super excited when I heard Anil Kapoor was remaking it for the Indian audience, and extremely happy that he pulled it off with style. Yes, 24 is a show India can be proud of. In the era of the same old crappy daily soaps, and reality TV every now and then, 24 was like a breath of fresh air. Anil Kapoor and his team got everything almost right, yes, I said ALMOST. There are a few things that I did not like. 1. First of all, I did not like the flash back. That is wastage of time. A narration would have been sufficient, or maybe a video of the past would have been more appropriate, but a flash back really spoils the real time feel. 2. They failed to manage the real time perfectly. Everyone may or may not notice it, but I, having seen the original, was kind of fussy about it. There were many occasions when the show pauses at a scene for a break, and then resumes from that very scene. Please note, in this format, time keeps moving even during the break. So, if the show pauses at say 11:45 AM and resumes at 11:50 AM, how is it possible that nothing happened in those 5 minutes, and the show restarted from exactly where it left off. Also, in the last episode, there was a time jump. We saw Anil enter the elevator, and maybe 1 or 2 seconds later, he was on the highway driving a car. How did he get there so fast. 3. The extras needs a little more training. The scene where Anil gets kidnapped by Ravindran's guys, there were a few commandos there as Anil's backup. The way they hopped around making unnecessary noise, that was one of the stupidest moments of the show. These commandos were supposed to be the best ATU had, and this is how they perform an operation. Come on.

But these are very minor mistakes which I am sure will be rectified in the future seasons. As for Anil Kapoor and team, thanks a lot. Can't wait for season 2.

Anil Kapoor has brought us Indians the staple of US and looks like he has succeeded. The plot, titles, characters & even the whole setup is similar to the original series, but of course with an Indian essence, which actually works both against & for the series.

Having just watched the first episode of the rather suspenseful 1-hour serial, I am quite mesmerized by the crescendos the sequences reach, most of which involve Kapoor. Direction, cinematography & screenplay are catchy & apt for the theme of the plot. Supporting cast (along with guest appearances; Anupam Kher f.e.) duly support in creating cliff- hanging scenes. It's much like reading a thriller book with the best part being the real-time plot. The original series was famous for it, and if the further episodes follow that, I very well be surprised & entertained.

Having told about the experience, the Indian touch always comes as benevolence. With lots of elements from spying to adultery, from office- politics to face-to-face spat - 24 has everything for you to fall in love with it & enjoy, moreover when they know their audience & have improvised in amounts of violence/sex, without introducing stereotypes... The Indian 24 is bold, I must say!

BOTTOM LINE: Highly recommended for it is better than 90% of those shows/serials they show nowadays. Colors channel surely is gonna get high, eh!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES (It does have lust, foreplay in it, but they are mild)

Profanity: No | Sex/Porn: No | Violence/Gore: Critical | Smoking/Drugs: No | Alcohol: Mild

"24" begins with the time duration in which the incidents take occurrence and mind you, one does get a slight feeling that as we are sitting in our couches watching a suspense/drama/thriller TV series, things are happening around us that we don't know of but may affect our times ahead. The notion slips to the back of the mind as the episodes progress, probably because one is so involved with the happenings that the hour seems actually shorter. Relativity, indeed. "24" is a very fine start for an impending paradigm shift on the Indian Television scenario, at least in the Hindi TV series arena. A big, big improvement on the over-used, usual, dominating format of the soap operas and surprisingly, a constant "cliffhanger" consecutively. From the high scale of production to cinematography, from casting to direction - this series is modern and a literal visual "treat". Abhinay Deo (Director 'Delhi Belly') is scoring aces and Anil Kapoor has made good choices, both as the producer and the male lead. Watch it for high octane thrill and a partial sophisticated, partial raw suspense. If you haven't seen it, please do give a try. You won't be left disappointed.