10 Insane Foreign Remakes Of Famous TV Shows

9. 24: India

For its eighth season €“ the one where Jack Bauer goes to New York and somehow gets involved with the Russian mafia, because the show pretty much abandoned any hope of being realistic as soon as the main character's daughter was hunted by a mountain cat - 24 added Anil Kapoor to the cast list as President Omar Hassan of the fictional Islamic Republic of Kamistan, who has to deal with a whole lot of intrigue and betrayal but fortunately never becomes party to one of Jack's infamous/terrifying improvised interrogation techniques. The ones with the biros are always the worst. Kapoor has been a superstar in his native India for over thirty-five years but has only recently become known to audiences in the US and England thanks to his starring role in Slumdog Millionaire, as the host of the game of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire where Anwar from Skins somehow knows all the answers despite being a common street rat. Appearing in 24 was one step closer to more widespread recognition for Kapoor. He enjoyed the experience so much, and was so enamoured with 24 in general, that he thought he'd make his own version. On returning to India his production company secured the rights to make a localised remake, in the Hindi language, with Kapoor in the main role (naturally) as Jack Bauer analogue Jai Singh Rathore. So far they've just remade the first season of 24, which means we've seen Indian versions of President Palmer, Tony and, yes, Kim. The show was widely praised by critics, with the cast specifically coming in for some kudos, and has been cited as one of the most expensive TV shows ever made in the country. What we've seen of 24: India - as it's imaginatively been titled - is indeed flashy and impressive. There's just something a little bizarre about the signature clock counting down, split-screen techniques and the like when they don't involve Kiefer Sutherland promising to cut up a potential terrorist with a pen knife.