Ji Mantriji

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Ji Mantriji
GenreComedy
Written byAlok Tomar
Monisha Shah & Noopur Tiwari
Directed bySmeeta Chakravarty
Starringsee below
Opening theme"Ji Mantriji"
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes38
Production
Executive producerDuncan Cooper BBC
Running timeApprox. 25 minutes
Production companyNDTV with BBC WORLDWIDE
Original release
NetworkSTAR Plus
Release26 April 2001 (2001-04-26) –
2001 (2001)

Ji Mantriji (literally "Yes Minister" in Hindi) is an Indian adaptation of the British satirical sitcom Yes Minister. It was telecast from 26 April 2001 on STAR Plus with permission from the BBC.[1][2] Ji Mantriji features Farooq Sheikh as Surya Prakash Singh, the Minister of Administrative Affairs; and Jayant Kripalani as the department's secretary.[3] The plot lines were the same as those of the original, with suitable changes in the Indian context.[4][5] Ji Mantriji was produced by NDTV in collaboration with BBC Worldwide.[6] The opening titles for each episode were illustrated by famous Indian cartoonist, R. K. Laxman, well known for his political cartoon series, The Common Man.

Ji Mantriji was in production for a year before being aired, which is unusual in Indian television where serials are generally developed and produced a few weeks in advance. The writers changed certain references to fit the new setting: France was changed to Pakistan and the European Economic Community was changed to the SAARC and the Commonwealth. A sequel, Ji Pradhanmantriji (Yes Prime Minister) was also produced. The books accompanying the series were published in India by Penguin Books.[7][8][9]

Cast[edit]

Awards[edit]

  • Hero Honda ITA Award for Best Serial Comedy
  • Hero Honda ITA Award for Best Actor in a Comedy - Farooq Sheikh[10][11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Political stars in channel wars". The Telegraph.
  2. ^ "Hindi makeover for Yes Minister". BBC News. 20 April 2001.
  3. ^ "Showbiz programming is NDTV's route to achieve a greater level of independence". Outlook India.
  4. ^ "A barbed look at babudom". The Hindu.
  5. ^ "It's guiles & wiles all the way". The Tribune.
  6. ^ "Ji Mantriji is serious business for BBC". The Times of India.
  7. ^ "An Interview with Rupert Gavin". IndianTelevision.com. IndianTelevision. 3 November 2001. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  8. ^ Banerjee, Piali (18 January 2004). "Prickly politicians ensure paucity of satires on TV". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  9. ^ Jayasankar, Menaka (29 February 2004). "It's About Compatibility". The Indian Express. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  10. ^ "Yes Minister gets Ukrainian makeover". The Telegraph. 29 November 2009.
  11. ^ "Company History - NDTV". Economic Times. 17 January 2005. Retrieved 15 March 2011.