'Sherlock was never a cheap gimmick for us: Mark Gatiss

New Delhi: Mark Gatiss, the writer and star of hugely popular TV show 'Sherlock', which has made global stars out of Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott, says reinventing the famous fictional character was never a cheap gimmick for him and co-creator Steven Moffat.

Gatiss will visit India from December 19 to 21 to meet 'Sherlock' fans at Mumbai Film and Comic Con 2014, and is looking forward to connect to a new set of audience that has loved all the three seasons of the BBC show.

Gatiss, 48, who plays Sherlock's disapproving elder brother Mycroft Holmes in the series, reveals that like all literary reinterpretations, their decision to update Sherlock for a younger audience was met with resistance initially.

"The idea is not new. It has been done before but when we started you could tell the resistance. There was a newspaper article that criticised us.

"But we have been very clear from the beginning that the series is made by people who adore Sherlock Holmes. It is not a cheap gimmick for us. We were just trying to find a new way to reintroduce the character to a younger audience and I am glad that people have taken our version to their heart," Gatiss told PTI in a telephonic interview from London ahead of his visit to India.

Gatiss is glad that Cumberbatch, who has created Oscar buzz with his role in 'The Imitation Game', became very popular after playing Sherlock. Scott, known to the series' fans as Moriarty, meanwhile, has bagged a role in the newly announced 24th James Bond movie 'Spectre'.

"Benedict genuinely became a star overnight with 'Sherlock'. At first Martin (Freeman) was obviously the bigger star but Benedict became a star after the first episode. Now they are equal global stars.

"Steven and I are both mad James Bond fans, so it is great to have Andrew there. The global reach of 'Sherlock' is immense. The only downside is that everyone is so popular and busy that it is quite hard to get them together to make more shows," says Gatiss.