Filmmaker Mira Nair, in a career spanning three decades, has often turned to books for inspiration. There’s her beloved adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, and also the misfire in William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. So, when it came to adapting Vikram Seth’s mammoth novel, A Suitable Boy, Nair knew a two-hour feature won’t do justice to the saga that follows four families. “It deserves the unfolding pace of a marathon,” says Nair. “It is gruelling but also gorgeous.” The six-episode series released on Netflix on October 23.
For Nair, there was no city better than Lucknow to represent Brahmpur, a fictional town by the Ganga. Nair and her crew shot on real locations, moving from old havelis to crumbling forts. “We were going into places and refurbishing them to make them look as they did in 1951,” she says. “It also amazed me that there wasn’t a single Muslim elected city official.”
This story is from the November 02, 2020 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 02, 2020 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
AAMCHI ENGLISH
You'd think its history of language politics would have nixed such a possibility.
SULTANS OF AASMAN
It's harvest season for India's charter flight operators, as eager candidates hop on to rented choppers and small aircraft with sky-high ambitions.
Music to OUR EARS
After signing a record deal with Warner Music Group, Nora Fatehi sets her sights on being a global pop star
Rebel with a CAUSE
A retrospective of revolutionary artist Gobardhan Ash showcases four decades of his practice at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity
HYBRID FORMS
Mythic Femininities at DAG Delhi brings together a well-chosen crosssection of the late GOGI SAROJ PAL'S large body of work
OUT OF THE SHADOWS
JAI MEHTA makes his directorial debut with Disney+ Hotstar's web series Lootere
MAN OF MANY PARTS
Pratik Gandhi's transition from theatre and Gujarati cinema to mainstream Bollywood is an inspirational tale
THE DUNKI REPUBLIC
Rivers flowing down from the Himalayan massifs are known to have fickle habits-they curl about, meander and, if they stray far enough, get captured by bigger river systems.
A SENSE OF DEPRIVATION
As the Uddhav Sena gets a lion's share in the MVA seat-sharing deal, discontent brews within Congress ranks over the leadership conceding three key seats
Kshatriyas Declare War on Rupala
The minister's appeasement of Dalits has upset the warrior class, who want his candidature withdrawn or they will stir trouble for the BJP in all 26 seats