Doordarshan's ‘Captain Vyom’ to be remade into web series

NEW DELHI: Captain Vyom, an Indian television series that aired on DD National in 1998, directed by Ketan Mehta and starring Milind Soman will be remade into a web show by Brewing Thoughts Pvt Ltd.

Filmmakers and content creators are looking to tap into feel-good, light-hearted stories and nostalgia to draw audiences emerging from two stressful years of the pandemic. Modern remakes of humorous hits like Angoor (an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors) and Govinda’s 1998 comedy Bade Miyan Chote Miyan are in the offing.

Media and entertainment industry experts said nostalgia has always been a great emotion to milk, and feel-good classics will appeal to both older and newer audiences.

Sony Pictures will recreate Shaktimaan, the superhero television show that aired on DD National in the late 1990s while content studio Applause Entertainment will look at animated stories based on Amar Chitra Katha. The surge in viewership and listenership for old films and songs during the pandemic speaks of the affection for the old and quaint.

Nostalgia related to sad stories may not work but happy stories can always be revived, say media industry experts, pointing out that new streaming platforms in India have begun to cater to older audiences, including the 60 plus population, in a big way, making these feel-good classics easy to market. There have always been assets and properties that remain enduring enough to milk over a period of time but also lend themselves to new audiences and energies. Every new generation thinks of how it can reinterpret these formats in its own time. It reminds you of a simpler time, and you can look back with affection to seek comfort in the familiar. Even the original show or film remaining available on streaming platforms does not exclude the possibility of something shinier and slicker coming up without the old, seemingly quaint version posing real competition to the new offering.