Hotstar's desi 'The Office' is really nice! Stop hating it just because it's Indian!
This week, all episodes of the Indian version of ‘The Office’ dropped on Hotstar. While the US and UK versions of the show are set in Scranton and Slough respectively, the Indian version is set in Faridabad. Our beloved Pam Beesly is now 'Pammi', a choice of name that was heavily criticized by the OG fans of the show.
Going by that logic, you would expect Jim to ‘Jimmesh’ and Dwight to be ‘Dwivedi’ — but thankfully, the makers knew better. Of course, the moment the trailer for the Indian version of ‘The Office’ was released, this is how the Internet reacted.
The OG fans of ‘The Office’ weren’t impressed with the show’s trailer as they felt that the show was trying ‘too hard’ to be funny and they were less than impressed with the Indian version of the characters. Some even blamed the makers for reworking pretty much all the dialogues that we got to see in the US version of the show.
And how misplaced is the anger of the so-called ‘OG fans’ of the ‘The Office’ is. First of all, calling out the show because it is a remake of the US version is a tad hypocritical. The real ‘OG fans’ know that the US version of ‘The Office’ was itself a remake of the UK version and much like the Indian version, the first season of the US version copied/reworked all the jokes and scenes that we saw in the UK version!
Much like the Indian version, the US version of the show also didn’t click with the audiences because the show’s original British humour was lost in translation. It was only from the second season that the US version of the show picked up and gained popularity.
Considering the fate of ‘The Office’ remakes, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if the first season of the Indian version tanked — but it didn’t. Given how the first seasons of ‘The Office’ remakes often fail to leave a mark, the Indian version is clearly an exception in the trend.
Jagdeep Chaddha, the ‘Fun’jabi boss of Wilkins Chawla, has done a stupendous job channelling his inner Michael Scott. He is as quirky, offensive and inappropriate as the original Scott. Much of the jokes and the plotlines have been reworked to suit an Indian context. Yes, the basic structure of the jokes is the same — but the way the punchlines have been tweaked is a breath of fresh air.
Remember the critically acclaimed episode ‘Diversity Day’ of season 1 of ‘The Office’? The Indian version beautifully reworks the plot and creates ‘Anekta Diwas’ — where Jagdeep Chaddha’s borderline racist jokes targeting Gujaratis, Sikhs and what he calls 'Madarasis' take centrestage. Of course Chadda is a bigot — but his simplicity and childlike quality also leave you wondering on how bigotry may even be unintentional and he certainly doesn’t mean to hurt anyone with his jokes.
Rebranding Michael Scott’s offensive humour would have been a difficult line to walk. But, in my view, the way the show deals with it is mature and nuanced.
Interestingly, the Indian version has a political touch too — TP Mishra, the Indian avataar of the eccentric (and iconic) Dwight K. Schrute has been written as a hardcore ‘bhakt’, the kind of man who calls his co-workers 'anti-nationals' and goes to public places with his friends to beat up couples. His innate ‘nationalist streak’ is often the butt of jokes in the show. The writers were clearly trying to make a statement — and they do it very well.
And, of course, we can’t go about this review without giving a shout-out to Gauhar Khan for her stunning portrayal of Riya — who clearly outdid Melora Hardin as Jan Levinson.
The plot lines and jokes have been rehashed, yes — but what else do you expect from an official remake of a hit show? They can’t have a new name of the show or develop fresh storylines, at least during the initial seasons. Why not give the show a chance and see if you like it?
I know that the Indian remakes of US TV shows and movies haven’t fared well in the past — but it’s safe to say that ‘The Office’ is a rare exception to this trend.
The show totally deserves appreciation for its fresh jokes and nicely written Indian characters. Some of it is better than the US version even. Go deal with that, you anti-nationals!