There was a time when literature travelled across continents. In these days of franchises and formats, television series travel across the world. After 24, popularIsraeli television series Hatufim is being adapted as P.O.W Bandi Yudh Ke by Nikkhil Advani for Star Plus. Gideon Raff, the creator is in Mumbai to watch what Nikkhil is up to. “It is amazing. I can’t tell how moved I am after watching the first episode,” says Raff, who spent three years in the army before moving to the U.S. to learn filmmaking. The Israeli drama deals with three Israeli soldiers, captured during a secret mission in Lebanon and subjected to physical and mental torture over a 17-year period before the two are repatriated. Nikkhil has adapted it in the milieu of the Kargil War.
“I think human condition has no borders. Israel is a very small country where army plays an important role in public consciousness. I started researching about people who come back from captivity and realised that even though we tend to believe the prisoners of war have a happy ending, the reality is that it is not. It is a very hard journey and nobody was ready to say this truth in Israel,” says Raff.
One of the reasons, continues Raff, that the show travels so well is there is no shortage of conflict around the world. “It is not about the people who come back from captivity; it is about their wives, children and friends – making the whole country prisoners of war.”
Some critics see it as a one-sided story but Raff doesn’t buy the argument. “It is a human and not a political story but, of course, every time you tell a human story it gets politicised. The second season turns the gaze on the other side. I think that’s why it was accepted among Arab and Muslim audience. I don’t believe in good and bad. I believe in three dimensional characters – stories which are told from both sides, stories that humanise the ‘enemies’. We start looking at them as enemies but end up finding common ground.”
Is it a general feeling among creative people in Israel? “Of course, not just in Israel but in Iran as well. Artists believe in dialogue, finding similarities and common ground and not stereotyping.” There is a section which wants to boycott Israeli artist community. “I don’t see any reason in it. I believe in listening to people and building bridges.”
However, Homeland, its American version, seems much less layered. “I can’t say that it is less layered as I am the executive producer of the series and I am proud of Homeland.” What Raff says is that the American version is lot more action-packed and about CIA operatives investigation into the case while the Israeli and now Indian adaptations are more about POWs who come back and try to find their way in society. “There is a deeper exploration of characters here.”
Has it something to do with the audience? “It depends on the audience but it also depends on the shoe maker. Nikkhil is a very emotional person, who is more interested in a show that explores human truth.”
Raff agrees that the series has a violent core. “It is the emotional violence that is probably more horrific than the physical one. When one talks to people who have been prisoners of war, they talk about emotional violence. It was not that they were not tortured. They were, but it was loneliness and hopelessness that hurt them the most. The fact that people on the other side of the border don’t even know that they are alive. That is the biggest torture,” says Raff, who spoke to a number of POWs before writing the series.
Raff is also a prominent animal rights supporter and is against their use in military operations. “Every stray dog that I see in India, I want to immediately save. The reason is that I believe in compassion. That is my religion, the basis of my art and that is how I live my life. I don’t believe in taking advantage of the weak.”
It is his first visit to India but Raff is confident that it is not going to be his last. “I am making friends here and I am looking forward to Diwali.”
