The Office is an Indian television sitcom streaming on Hotstar. It is an adaptation of the original BBC series of the same name, although it follows the American remake more closely. It was co-produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India for Hotstar's new label Hotstar Specials.
Contents
Plot
The show is an adaptation of the original British sitcom, based in a branch of Wilkins Chawla. It depicts a 9 to 5 workplace where the boss, Jagdeep Chaddha (played by Mukul Chadda), desperately tries to keep his employees' morale high. He is an overly familiar boss who tells his employees to consider him one of their pals, but unfortunately his weak jokes and failed attempts at camaraderie fail to impress his colleagues, who are perennially bored.
Production
Development
In January 2019, Applause Entertainment entered partnership in which they will develop the Indian versions of hit series such as The Office and Criminal Justice.
The Office team set to adapt the entirety of the British version with episode count being 28 for the adaptation.
Casting
By June 2018, the casting for the show was complete for the lead roles, with continued casting for recurring and guest roles.
Cast
Mukul Chadda as Jagdeep Chadha, branch manager (based on Michael Scott). The Manager of Wilkins Chawla Faridabad. He is a self-proclaimed "funjabi" boss who, despite the opinions of his workers, finds himself funny. He finds unique ways to bond with his staff. His age is 42, and is unmarried. His primary love interests are Riya and Geeta.
Gopal Datt as Triveni Prasad Mishra, assistant to the branch manager (based on Dwight Schrute). Triveni Prasad (more commonly referred to as T.P. by his colleagues) is the assistant to the branch manager at Wilkins Chawla Faridabad. He is an obsequious employee who is often found with Jagdeep Chadha. He is a Swadeshi person and often shows his hate towards Western culture by using Ayurvedic products like asafoetida candy, masala cola, and carom seed tea. He is the prime target of Amit's pranks. He is engaged in wrestling at his akhada in Faridabad Sector 3. In the second season, he develops a secret love interest for Anjali.
Sayandeep Sengupta as Amit Sharma, salesman (based on Jim Halpert). A salesman at the Wilkins Chawla Faridabad branch. He loves to play pranks in the office, especially with T.P., and with Pammi being his partner in crime. Some of his pranks include shifting T.P.'s desk into the gentleman's toilet, selling his office items on online shopping sites, and many more. He has had a crush on Pammi for a long time, but since Pammi was engaged to be married, he had left the thought of Pammi as his crush but he remained friends with her. He was in a brief relationship with Loveleen, the Office dietician but broke up with her. In Second's last episode before taking a transfer to Wilkins Chawla Gurugram Branch, he opens up his heart and feelings to Pammi about her and kisses her.
Samridhi Dewan as Pammi Goel, the receptionist (based on Pam Beesley). Pammi is the receptionist at The Wilkins Chawla Faridabad Branch. She is Amit's partner in playing pranks on T.P. She is also the source of news in the office. She is engaged to be married to Parmeet who works in Wilkins Chawla Faridabad branch's warehouse. She wanted to be a graphic designer but left her dreams as Parmeet disapproves it. She considers Amit as her best friend but later even she falls in love with him.
Abhinav Sharma as Sapan Gill, the intern (based on Ryan Howard). Sapan is an intern working in Wilkins Chawla Faridabad branch. He is often seen with his headphones and always attends high society parties among the Delhi elite. He is also preparing for the Common Admission Test (CAT) examinations and wants to get into IIM. In the second season, Kitty falls in love with him but he breaks up with her but soon patches up with her. T.P. thinks that Sapan is a spoilt rich brat from Defence Colony.
Recurring
Gauahar Khan as Riya Pahwa (based on Jan Levinson).
Nehpal Gautam as Bhadoria Peon (loosely based on Creed Bratton).
Ankit Gulati as Bhandari, HR executive.
Kunal Pant as Parmeet, Pammi's fiancé (based on Roy).
Mayur Bansiwal as Madhukar, HR (based on Toby Flenderson).
Manpreet Singh as Rajinder, warehouse foreman (based on Darryl Philbin)
Anandita Pagnis as Loveleen, Amit's girlfriend (based on Amy Adams' character Katy Moore). Amit broke up with her post-Jim Corbett office trip.
Ranvir Shorey as Prem Chopra, traveling salesman (based on Todd Packer)
Episodes
Release
The first season with episode count of 13 was slated to release on June 28, 2019. The second season which was filmed with first season itself was slated to release on September 15, 2019.
Promotion
The trailer was released by Hotstar on various platforms on 4 June 2019. The team engaged mainly in social media promotions as they poised the series towards younger generations. The promotion for Season 2 was started in early September revealing the release date.
Special
In May 2020, the cast reprised their roles for a special episode that was created during the COVID-19 pandemic. The episode was released on YouTube
International broadcast
The show is available to stream in Pakistan on TapMad and in the US on Hulu.
Reception
The series received mixed reviews. Firstpost reviewed it, saying, "Good performances, apt casting make Hotstar's lazily-written remake watchable". New Indian Express had a more mixed view, summarizing it as, "Brownie points for accuracy, but magic lost in translation". Raja Sen from Livemint described it as, "decent, not special". Rohan Nahaar from Hindustan Times rated it 2/5 and called it an "unfunny, unnecessary carbon copy of the American classic".