Kajol-starrer ‘The Good Wife’ adaptation has different layering: Suparn S Varma

New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) The Indian adaptation of popular American legal TV drama “The Good Wife”, fronted by Kajol, will be different from the original show in terms of characterisation and subplots, says series director Suparn S Varma.

Varma, whose credits include “The Family Man” season 2 starring Manoj Bajpayee, said Kajol’s debut web series will arrive on Disney+ Hotstar in July.

Many “structural” changes have been made to “The Good Wife”, the original CBS series starring Julianna Margulies, to suit the cultural landscape of India, he added.

“Adaptations are very different because the first season of ‘The Good Wife’ (original show) had 23 episodes. Our first season is eight episodes long. Firstly, the structure of storytelling changes (in adaptations). Secondly, that show was made at a different time.

“Characters have changed, cases are different since their show was based on the jury system that doesn’t exist in India. There are certain characters whose tracks you can’t tell today, for example, office romances. So, you have to do a different layering,” Varma told PTI here.

The original series, “The Good Wife”, was created by CBS Studios, in association with Scott Free Productions and King Size Productions.

Produced by Banijay Asia, the Indian version also stars Jisshu Sengupta, Kubbra Sait, Sheeba Chaddha, and Alyy Khan.

Adaptations can be challenging, the director said, but credited the show’s cast for helping him sail through.

“I’ve been blessed to have a great cast – there’s Kajol, Jisshu, Ali, Sheeba Chaddha, Kubbra Sait, and Gaurav Pandey,” he added.

Varma also gave an update on the much anticipated third season of “The Family Man”, directed by Raj & DK.

“We should start shooting by the end of this year. Soon, you’ll get ‘The Family Man 3’ also. We all are waiting to go back to the set and start work on it,” he said.

He also has two more shows “Lootere”, which marks Jai Mehta’s solo directorial venture, and “Sultan of Delhi” coming out this year.

Varma’s latest offering as producer, “Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai” headlined by Bajpayee, arrives Tuesday on ZEE5.