Vishesh Bhatt will produce a web series based on RK Laxman’s popular Servants of India, he announced on Tuesday. Published in 2002, Laxman’s book is a collection of ten comic stories centred around domestic workers chosen from different walks of life. These include the cook Swami, who finds his true calling as a godman, the maid Shanti, who has to deal with unwanted attention from a neighbour’s helper, and the driver Anthony, who earns money on the side by giving lifts to strangers. Their stories are put together by a freelance journalist called Ganesh.
“It [The series] would be a satirical drama on the casual class prejudices we all have in India, punched with the gripping absurdity of situations that have occurred in many of our own lives or with our friends,” according to a statement from the makers. Details of the cast are yet to be revealed.
“In this series, every character has certain idiosyncrasies and Laxman has used his trademark wit to fictionalise real world people into characters with gripping twists,” the statement added. “Vishesh Bhatt visions to adapt the characters with a new age and quirky treatment.”
Bhatt and his team have secured the rights for the web series from Laxman’s family and his company RK IPR Management. Unpublished material related to the book will also be included in the adaptation, the makers added.