Skyfire – Continuing the lineup of amazing book adaptations on ZEE5: It is fun to see your favourite book turned into a web series, isn’t it? Filmmakers and TV show creators have been adapting books since the inception of the visual medium. Filmmakers like creating a visual experience of their beloved books or those that they think would be loved and appreciated by the audience. Movies like the Harry Potter series, Gone Girl, 3 Idiots and 2 States are some of the famous movies that have successfully cracked the code of adapting books for the screen. The popularity of the books also inclines more people into watching these movies. So, it is pretty much safe to say that book adaptations are quite a successful formula when done right.
Skyfire – Continuing the lineup of amazing book adaptations on ZEE5
As mentioned before, owing to the immense popularity of web series among the Indian audience, OTT platforms have started offering web series based on books. There was a lack of adapted screenplays based on books a few years back. However, it is changing in the OTT platforms, and the numbers have picked up in recent times. Due to an overwhelming response from the audience, online streaming platforms have started leaning more towards the book adaptations belonging to different genres. OTT platforms like ZEE5 has already started exploring into different genres like history, horror and Sci-Fi for their web series like Hutatma, Parchhayee and now, Skyfire.
If you look at it, web series makes up for a better platform to make and release content based on books. Often, movies are known to fall short of fan expectations because of their limited running time. But with web series, there is no such constraint and the makers get the freedom to explore storylines over a longer run-time, sometimes across multiple seasons. If done right, these web series can get a huge fan base in India. The number would grow as the audience themselves would help spread the word in their neighbourhood and friends. Shows like The Final Call and Parchhayee are the sheer examples to this.
One OTT platform that has been in the forefront when it comes to book adaptations in India is ZEE5. In fact, they are one of the very few platforms in India that are taking this process seriously. Book adaptations are not an easy code to crack, but since they already have a grand narrative, the producers have the freedom to deep dive into plotlines and present a more faithful narrative. In the past, ZEE5 has released many acclaimed web series like The Final Call, Parchhayee and Hutatma which were based on literary works. Each one of them was not only successful but also managed to inspire others to venture into book adaptation.
One web series that is currently creating all the buzz is Skyfire. Skyfire is similar yet different from the other ZEE5 offerings. In that, although it is a web series that is based on a book, it explores a whole unexplored genre for ZEE5 – Sci-Fi. Skyfire is based on an Aroon Raman’s Sci-Fi novel of the same name. It shows how a journalist, historian and an intelligence operative connect mysterious weather changes to children’s disappearance, leading to a conspiracy of huge proportions. The show also managed to team up Prateik Babbar and Sonal Chauhan to play the leads. Bringing in a real-life threat like weather change into a Sci-Fi backdrop helps to address real fears without coming across as too preachy.
With this web series, ZEE5 is going to open a portal that will attract a lot of filmmakers to adapt to different books. Moreover, they also receive great response among the audience, both bibliophiles and cinephiles. I hope to see more such web series in the coming times. Personally, I am going to watch Skyfire as soon as it launches on ZEE5.
