EXCLUSIVE: Ravi Adhikari to REVIVE iconic shows Commander, Yes Boss, Suraag; plans Shrimaan Shrimati reboot using AI featuring late Jatin Kanakia and Reema Lagoo
In the Indian entertainment and television space, Sri Adhikari Brothers (SAB) Television Network Ltd holds a prominent place. Several of its shows made history and are still fondly remembered today. Commander, for instance, was the first serial to be aired on Zee TV, the country’s first private satellite channel. All The Best was the first music-based countdown programme, while Suraag, which aired on DD1, was among the early thriller shows on Indian television. The family comic caper Shrimaan Shrimati, meanwhile, went on to achieve cult status and continues to enjoy a huge fan following even today. Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd also became the first media company to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. At the same time, the late media pioneer Gautam Adhikari (director and co-founder of the Sri Adhikari Brothers Group), found a place in the Limca Book of Records.
The company is now about to write a new chapter. Gautam Adhikari’s son, Ravi Adhikari, chairman of SAB Television Network Ltd, is all set to reboot several of these iconic shows for a new generation. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Ravi opened up about these ambitious revival plans, the use of Artificial Intelligence to bring back beloved characters, the future of AI in entertainment and a lot more.
Ravi Adhikari revealed, “We have a vast library and we own the IP of most of the shows. Many of them were path-breaking and continue to have strong recall value even today. We are rebooting Suraag and Yes Boss. We are also in talks for Commander. It was the first show to be telecast on a satellite channel. We are also trying to revive Say Na Something To Anupam Uncle.”
He added, “On YouTube, several of our older shows continue to get good viewership, with Suraag and Shrimaan Shrimati among the top performers. This also gave me an insight into what people are watching when it comes to our older shows.”
The reboot of Suraag is already ready. Ravi Adhikari said, “It’s called Suraag 2.0. It stars Sudesh Berry and Sai Ketan Rao.”
AI gives old IPs new life
For the reboot of Shrimaan Shrimati, Ravi Adhikari has decided to turn to AI. He stated, “Two of the actors from Shrimaan Shrimati, Jatin Kanakia and Reema Lagoo, are no longer with us. We are trying to create fresh episodes featuring them using AI. Hence, we are using AI in cases where it would otherwise be impossible to recreate our IPs. We have also made mythological and fantasy shows like Brahma Vishnu Mahesh and Alif Laila. We can recreate such episodes with AI as well. We already have the audio from the original episodes; now, we want to create fresh visuals around it. That’s how we can refurbish and revive some of our older IPs.”
Ravi Adhikari made it clear that the necessary permissions would be taken from the families of Jatin Kanakia and Reema Lagoo before proceeding.
Explaining why familiar IPs continue to resonate with audiences, he said, “Songs are also being remixed because of their recall value. When you go to a party where there are 100 people and you know only five of them, you’ll naturally greet those five first. You’ll spend time with them and, through them, meet other people. The same thing happens with content. There’s so much content available today, but you naturally tend to get attracted to familiar titles first.”
He added, “I’d also like to clarify that nothing can be made completely by AI. You still need a human brain behind it. AI apne aap toh kuch kar nahin sakta. People say things have become easier with AI. Yes, it does help save time and money, but in some ways, it has also made things more challenging for the maker because you have to be extremely clear and precise about what you want.”
Ravi elaborated, “When you communicate with a human being, he or she can understand what you are trying to say even if your instruction isn’t completely clear. For example, I can tell someone, ‘Yeh cheez ko utha ke udhar rakh do’, and they’ll understand. But I can’t give the same instruction to a machine. I’ll have to say, ‘Here’s a bottle lying on the table. Take it and place it on the other table where the book is kept.’ Hence, when working with AI, you need to be very precise with your prompts.”
Ravi Adhikari also revealed, “We are associated with the Stage app, a huge platform for Haryanvi, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali stories. Neeraj Chopra is one of its investors. They plan to go fully into AI, and we have a deal with them to create AI content.”
Predicting how AI will shape the entertainment industry, he said, “It’s the way forward. For ad films, you will not need actors to be physically present. As for films, the process will slowly become hybrid. AI will not take over; it’ll become a part of the process. Even when CGI came in, many people said films would eventually be made entirely using CGI. That didn’t happen. Instead, CGI became a part of the filmmaking process. AI will evolve similarly.”
And what about fears that AI could lead to job losses? Ravi answered, “When computers came in, they did replace a lot of jobs. Those who didn’t evolve suffered. The same thing will happen with AI. At the same time, if AI takes away certain jobs, it will also create new employment opportunities.”
The post EXCLUSIVE: Ravi Adhikari to REVIVE iconic shows Commander, Yes Boss, Suraag; plans Shrimaan Shrimati reboot using AI featuring late Jatin Kanakia and Reema Lagoo appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.