Banijay’s Endemol Shine India and Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan’s Black Knight Films will adapt hit Danish/Swedish scripted series “Bron/Broen” (“The Bridge”) for Indian audiences.
” ‘The Bridge’ is actually something that I was actively looking to produce. So I went looking for it,” Khan told Variety.
The original show opens with a dead body on a border that is shared by two countries and the discovery leads to a joint investigation by the police forces of the two regions, forcing detectives from both sides to work together to solve the crime. The global success of “The Bridge” – which has aired in 188 countries – has led to its adaptation in multiple languages, set across the international borders of U.S./Mexico, U.K./France, Germany/Austria, Singapore/Malaysia and Russia/Estonia.
The Hindi-language adaptation will also star Khan in the role of Martin, which Kim Bodnia played in the original. Rishi Negi, CEO Endemol Shine India, describes “The Bridge” as a “precious jewel” of the Banijay catalog.
“We’ve been evaluating the show for a long time, and for us, when we look at the male protagonist, whether you look at Martin, or you look at any other characterization that’s happened, I think Saif was the perfect fit, because he brings in the charm, he can turn the edginess in a quick moment onto the character,” Negi told Variety. “On the other side, you have a character who’s opposite, very singular in approach, very un-empathetic, without any human emotions, and he [Saif] brings all the emotions into this partnership between the two.”
The actor who will play Khan’s counterpart is yet to be decided. Also being discussed is whether the Indian adaptation will be set on the border between India and a neighboring country or between two Indian states.
“It could be inter-state so easily and it could be inter-country so easily. It could be within a state, within classes so easily,” Khan said. “When you think of ‘The Bridge’ as a concept, for us, with the diversity that we have, you can really go to town on this thing, because there’s just so much disparity in our country and even between privileged and non-privileged it is almost appalling. I hope our show touches on those nerves.”
Negi said: “Inter-state provides us with such cultural diversity, one state to the other is very different. The laws are different, languages are different, the culture is different. We’re still evaluating but inter-state could be a very interesting way to approach the story in India.”
Negi adds that that Endemol Shine India, whose “Trial by Fire” is currently a hit for Netflix, is “platform agnostic” and that “The Bridge” adaptation will go to market after it has been filmed. Production is due to commence in the last quarter of the year and if that goes ahead as planned, the show will release in the second quarter of 2024, Negi said.
“The Bridge” adaptation will be Khan’s third major foray into the series space after Netflix’s “Sacred Games” and Amazon Prime Video’s “Tandav.” The latter show ran afoul of Hindu nationalist politicians and Khan is keenly aware of the sensitivities of producing a show in India.
“There’s certain red flags that pop up where you say, ‘Let’s be aware of the sensitivity of this particular subject.’ On one level, there is that kind of experience that one has had, that despite the web being free of censorship to a large extent, and [being] an exciting space in which to push boundaries of human emotion. One needn’t push that to the point where we are ruffling feathers. That’s not the intent,” Khan said.
“That is one learning, as a producer, and the other learning is really as an actor and awareness. And the reason for getting into the show, is to reflect somehow, the human condition in as realistic a way as possible, with as much honest, drama, that shows people how things can be,” Khan added.
Endemol Shine India has just wrapped “Bigg Boss,” the Indian version of “Big Brother,” in six Indian languages for the Disney Star network and season 7 of MasterChef India was launched in January on Sony TV.
“There’s tonnes of work that’s happening on both scripted, unscripted, a lot of development on the pipeline and lots and lots lined up. It’s a very exciting time, because for us there is linear, which continues from strength to strength in India and then you have the emergence of the entire OTT space. So it’s a great time to be in the content business,” Negi said.
Next up for Khan is Om Raut’s magnum opus “Adipurush,” alongside “Baahubali” star Prabhas, which is due a June theatrical release.
The Black Knight Films team includes CEO and coproducer Kunjal Punamiya and creative producer and coproducer Pavan Kriplani.