“The Office” is a beloved American TV series of the mocumentary sitcom genre that follows that the daily lives of the employees of the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of a paper company- Dunder Mifflin. The show is actually the American version of the British show of the same name, created by British comedians Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Ricky plays the central character.
The America version aired for nine seasons from March 24, 2005 to May 16, 2013 and followed the antics and professional rivalries between the characters. The audience grew with the characters and formed a special bond with the employees of Dunder Mifflin as they saw all their lives’ ups and downs. The show mostly revolved around Scranton Branch Manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell), receptionist Pamela “Pam” Beesly (Jenna Fischer) and salesmen Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski).
An Indian version of the cult classic began streaming on Hotstar on June 28 and has drawn the collective ire of the Twitterati.
The Indian version, set in Faridabad in a company named Wilkins Chawla, seems to follow the same format as the US and UK versions, both of which are set in the early 2000’s and as long as you’ve been in a coma all this while, you’ll know we’re almost two decades ahead. So, as one can imagine, certain things won’t age as well.
Unfortunately, this is not what has angered the fans. What seems to have peeved them is the fact that the jokes seem to be a mere translation and as one Twitter user pointed out, the receptionist has literally been named “Pammi”.
In the Indian version, actor Mukul Chadda, the branch’s boss, has been called out for overacting, lacking the comedic genius portrayed by Gervais and Carrell. Chadda’s character has also been accused of cracking cringe-worthy ‘Punjabi dad jokes’. What else were the makers expecting, trying to flimsily adapt a cult classic? As the saying goes- “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.
Here are some savage responses to the show from the Twitterati:
What the hell forced you guys to make #TheOfficeIndia ? Aur atleast copy to ache se karo yr.
P.S. Pam ka pammi bnaa dia.— Upkar Kesar (@upkar_k8) June 28, 2019
Watched the first three episodes of #TheOfficeIndia. I’ve mixed feelings.
They have replaced Michael’s jokes with punjabi dad jokes. Rest of the dialogues are just directly translated into Hindi.
I am sure they have used the same subtitle file as the @theofficenbc.
— Sonal (@SonalHayat) June 27, 2019
So Indian version of The Office is out, three minutes into the first episode and –
1. The intro is like a bhajan
2. The boss sucks
3. PAM IS LITERALLY CALLED PAMMI
4. It’s induced a kind of gag reflex & I feel uncomfortable af
5. EVERYTHING IS WRONG#TheOffice #theofficeindia— i declare bankruptcy (@vrunketchup) June 27, 2019
Lost a bet just now. Couldn’t even survive the first 5 minutes of #TheOfficeIndia Can’t say about the people who are being introduced to “THE OFFICE” franchise for the first time but surely it is not for Michael Gary Scott or David Brent fans.
— Akash Garg (@thislowsong) June 27, 2019
Lost a bet just now. Couldn’t even survive the first 5 minutes of #TheOfficeIndia Can’t say about the people who are being introduced to “THE OFFICE” franchise for the first time but surely it is not for Michael Gary Scott or David Brent fans.
— Akash Garg (@thislowsong) June 27, 2019
#TheOfficeIndia
There is No office in India which resembles #TheOfficeIndia …
Also when ADAPTING some series just ADAPT …Difference between #TheOfficeIndia & #TheOfficeUS is like someone just made Maggi and calling it Lasagna !
— JCB wala (@pmkXOXO) June 28, 2019
Me looking at Indian Dwight and over the top Punjabi Dad joke#TheOfficeIndia pic.twitter.com/ihMSJsYykH
— Shabdika Pandey (@shabdtweets) June 28, 2019
Apart from Mukul Chadda, the cast of the Indian version of The Office includes Gopal Dutt, Gauahar Khan, Sayandeep Sengupta and Samridhi Dewan.
