Had discussed to turn 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai' into film: Deven Bhojani

Mumbai: Director-actor Deven Bhojani, who had helmed hit comedy TV show "Sarabhai vs Sarabhai," says he once had a discussion with the makers to turn the sitcom into a feature film.

The show, which aired in the mid-2000, featured Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sumeet Raghavan among others.

Deven says though there were discussions to turn the show into a film, they had to shelve the idea since nothing came out of it.

"We had a couple of discussions with our writer and producer regarding this, contemplating whether we can try to make a film out of it. But then it didn't work out the way we wanted to so we thought to do something else with it," Deven told PTI.

The show revolved around the life of an upper class Sarabhai family, consisting of Indravadan(Shah) and his wife Maya (Pathak), who live in an apartment with their younger son Rosesh (Rajesh Kumar).

It also featured Sahil (Raghavan) as their older son and his wife Monisha, played by Rupali Ganguly. The show became extremely popular for its wit and running gags about its characters, from Rosesh's poetry to Maya's sophistication.

"Sarabhai vs Sarabhai" is now set to return as a web series and Deven says some new characters will be added.

"We are still in the process, it is too soon to talk about it but may be we will take a time leap and carry on. We will retain a few qualities and of course all the successful characters. We add a couple of more new characters. It is going to come out very soon," he said.

Deven, meanwhile, is all geared up for the release of his feature film directorial debut, "Commando 2". The action-drama is a complete switch from comedy, which is what the he is usually known for.

Deven says he "gives his best" when he is out of his

comfort zone and directing an action film came naturally to him since he had already dabbled with the genre in his TV show "Pukaar".

"All 24 episodes of the show had film like action, that was my beginning in the genre. Vipul Shah was the producer of the series and had the guts to offer me the film. He knows that if I am challenged I will do my best," Deven said.

"Commando 2", which is a sequel to the 2013 film "Commando", stars Vidyut Jammwal in the lead role.

Though it is his debut as a director on the big screen, Deven wasn't nervous on the first day of the shoot as he had already become friends with the cast and crew before starting the movie.

"When I first met Vidyut, that day I was a little nervous but within a couple of minutes we became comfortable and gelled with each other.

"With all the actors we did workshops and with Vidyut we did a lot of action training. So by the time we started shooting, there was no nervousness. We all had become friends," he said.

The film is scheduled to release on March 3.