Adaptations seem to be the flavor of the season in the Indian OTT space. In the past four years, as many as twenty foreign web shows have been adapted in Hindi, and the number continues to rise, with many of them proving to be hits among Indian viewers. The Indian reworked versions of international shows like Criminal Justice, Penoza, Luther, Hostages, Kvodo, and Fauda have been huge draws for the OTT platforms, and that has paved the way for more such adaptations in the coming days. The British espionage thriller series The Night Manager, the crime thriller The Fall, and the American drama series Ray Donovan, among others, are already being remade in Hindi, and now there’s one more addition to this outgrowing trend.
Peepingmoon.com has exclusively learned that the South Korean police procedural series Signal is the latest foreign show to get an Indian adaptation. Guneet Monga’s production company, Sikhya Entertainment, is retreading this 2016 fantasy series into the Indian context. Umesh Bist, who directed the banner’s Netflix film, Pagglait, is helming this Zee5 show, while Gehraaiyaan and ‘83 actor Dhairya Karwa, Raghav Juyal (Nawabzaade, Bahut Hua Samman), and Kritika Kamra (Tandav, Hush Hush) have been roped in to play the lead roles. The show will feature the three actors attempting to solve various cold cases that have gone unsolved for years, filling in for the original star cast of Lee Je-hoon, Cho Jin-woong, and Kim Hye-soo.
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Signal follows a young criminal profiler who finds a mysterious walkie-talkie that allows him to communicate with a grizzled detective from 1989. Together, alongside a lady police officer, the three attempt to solve several cold cases that hit close to home more often than not in order to change the future and bring those responsible for their crimes to justice. It’s an intense crime thriller that keeps your heart pounding to the very end with its gripping and dark storyline. Puja Banerji and Gautam Sharma have adapted the show for Indian audiences, and it will get off the ground in Mumbai mid-next month.
The Signal adaptation marks Sikhya Entertainment’s second web series after last year’s one-of-a-kind interactive crime show, "Kaun? Who Did It?". The banner, known for making critically acclaimed movies like Masaan, Zubaan, and Pagglait, is steadily experimenting with long-form storytelling, and this new show is believed to be one of the many OTT projects planned for the next year. The company also has a high-concept action thriller with Lakshya Lalwani and Tanya Maniktala in the pipeline, apart from the Sanya Malhotra-starrer Netflix comedy drama, Kathal.
