24/India

24 is an Indian television series based on the American series of the same name, made in the Hindi language. The show, written by Rensil D'Silva and directed by Abhinay Deo, stars 24 season 8 actor Anil Kapoor, also a producer, in the lead role. 24 premiered on on the Viacom-owned Colors channel, airing twice-weekly, and concluded on. Set in Mumbai, India, the series is a close adaptation of the first season of 24, following Anti Terrorist Unit (ATU) director Jai Singh Rathod's efforts to thwart the assassination of Indian Prime Minister candidate Aditya Singhania, while his own family comes under threat from the perpetrators.

Cast

 * Anil Kapoor as Jai Singh Rathod, based on Jack Bauer
 * Of his role as the new series' Jack Bauer analogue, Kapoor said that the character "is also constantly torn between the family and the country. He has an army background which we have maintained and the show will have an anti-terrorist cell like the original's CTU."


 * Mandira Bedi as Nikita Rai, ATU's second-in-command, based on Nina Myers
 * Mandira Bedi replaced original actress Priyanka Bose.


 * Tisca Chopra as Jai's wife, Trisha Rathod, based on Teri Bauer


 * Sapna Pabbi as Kiran Rathod, daughter of Jai and Trisha, based on Kim Bauer
 * Adhish Khanna as Veer Singh Rathod, son of Jai and Trisha
 * Neil Bhoopalam as Aditya Singhania, India's youngest candidate for Prime Minister, based on David Palmer
 * Shivani Tanksale as Divya Singhania, sister of Aditya
 * Anita Raaj as Naina Singhania, mother of Aditya and Divya and head of a political dynasty
 * Adhir Bhatt as Tejpal Singh, ATU's third-in-command, based on Tony Almeida
 * Yuri Suri as Gill, based on George Mason
 * Anupam Kher as Wasim Khan, based on Richard Walsh
 * Shabana Azmi as ATU official Abhilasha Grewal, based on Alberta Green

Differences from the original
For the most part, the series closely hews to the plot of the American series, substituting Mumbai for Los Angeles and featuring the fictional Anti Terrorist Unit. There are a number of significant changes from the American series:
 * Names, places, and nationalities are adjusted to reflect the new setting. The primary antagonists are members of a Tamil separatist group called the LTFE, inspired by the real-life Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka. The LTFE leader, Ravindran, and his sons Raja and Bala play a similar role as Victor Drazen and his sons in the original first season.
 * The political story arc, which followed David Palmer discovering a cover-up perpetrated by his own wife and children, is entirely rewritten; Singhania is unmarried, and instead contends with a scandal involving his mother and siblings that is directly connected to the threat against his life. Over the course of the season, it is revealed that Aditya's brother-in-law, as well as one of his family members - his mother, cousin Prithvi, or sister Divya - is in league with the masterminds of the assassination attempt. In the finale, Divya is exposed as the inside connection and arrested.
 * The Nina Myers character, Nikita Rai, is not revealed to be an enemy agent, instead serving loyally throughout the season. The Jamey Farrell character, Jiah, is the only mole inside ATU, and takes her own life after being arrested.
 * The make-up and outcome of Jack Bauer's family are altered. Rathod has a teenage son, Veer, enrolled at a military academy, in addition to a daughter. Beginning in the family's story begins to diverge from the original - Trisha and Kiran manage to kill the assassin sent to kill them at the safe house, while Veer assumes a similar role to Kim Bauer in the latter half of Season 1, being mistakenly arrested for a drug deal and then kidnapped by the engineers of the assassination threat.
 * Rathod's wife, Trisha, is hospitalized late in the season and dies during the season finale, mirroring Teri Bauer's death at the end of Season 1.

Production
Kapoor acquired the rights to 24 from Fox and 24 executive producer Howard Gordon through his production company, Anil Kapoor Film Co. after Gordon introduced him to Fox's head of international television, Marion Edwards. In April 2013, Bollywood screenwriter Rensil D'Silva and director Abhinay Deo were announced as the series' writer and director. The series is filmed on location in Mumbai, India.

The size and scope of the production was described as unprecedented for Indian television. Colors CEO Raj Nayak said that 24 was "going to be one of our big scale budgeted shows - as big as one of our non-fiction reality shows," while Kapoor stated that "there will be scenes with hundreds of thousands of people." In addition, Kapoor noted that Fox personnel participated in the production with the hope of replicating "the same kind of work culture and value systems that I experienced during my stint on 24."

Kiefer Sutherland, who remained in contact with Kapoor after they starred together in Season 8, expressed interest in appearing on the new series in a cameo role.

Overseas airings
While Colors does have international versions available on satellite and cable television that air their programmes with subtitles near to transmission date, the show has not yet been aired in those territories due to "right issues" that a Colors spokesman hoped would be resolved at some point.