After the successful run of the ambitious show "24," Anil Kapoor has decided to repeat the trend with the popular American comedy show, "Modern Family." It is understood that Kapoor will be remaking "Modern Family" for the Indian audience in the coming months, complete with the characters of the gay couple, Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson).
There is always the threat of the censor board objecting to the portrayal of LGBTon the small screen, but Kapoor is adamant on remaking the show in its full essence. Huffington Post quotes Kapoor as saying, "I honestly won't do 'Modern Family' if the same-sex couple were to be eliminated." After all, Cam and Mitch are an integral part of the show, and an important reason for the family being aptly modern.
Along with being funny, the ABC show has been a trailblazer in normalising LGBT characters, and their relationships. "Indian TV needs a progressive show like that, it absolutely does," adds Kapoor.
Kapoor's daughter Sonam is also a spokesperson for the LGBT community, notes Huffington Post. She addressed her fans assembled at the Kashish film festival, "Most of my fans are either straight women, gay men or lesbians. If they support me, I've got to support them."
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It is understood that the writing process for the Indian version of the ABC show will begin in the next couple of months. Kapoor promises that the Indian counterpart will live up to the standards set by "Modern Family."
However, despite the positive attitude of this father-daughter duo, history has proven that getting actors to play the roles of openly gay characters like Mitch and Cam is going to be difficult. In fact, director and producer Karan Johar is said to have searched above and beyond for an actor to play the role of a closeted gay character in his film, "Kapoor and Sons."
The success of the movie has helped eliminate a tiny bit of the stigma that comes in India with playing a gay character. Also, there are actors who are also LGBT rights activists who may not be popular faces in India yet, who could be cast in the role of Mitch and Cam, rather than a popular face.