BENGALURU: Grab some popcorn and get ready to enjoy a sitcom based on a crazy and chaotic NRI family settled in Bengaluru. While short films have been here for a while now, and web series are slowly taking over the dramatic tele-serials, as of now, English sitcoms are being made only in the US and UK. Director Mike Fontana wants to bring this popular genre to India with his Breakfast in Bangalore (BIB).
The sitcom revolves around a family comprising an American father, an Indian mother, and Indian-American teenagers, who move to Bengaluru from the US.
That’s not it. There is also a nagging granny, a Tam-Brahm woman in her 70s, who wants to ‘Indianise’ her grandchildren. Lakshmi Chandrashekar, who is a popular face in Kannada teleserials, is playing the role of the grandmother. The others are all fresh faces. Fontana himself is playing one of the lead characters. While the production team and the technicians are from Bengaluru, professional American actors from New York essay roles of the three kids –Tara, Swetha and Subu. Also, it is a multi-camera sitcom.
Lakshmi plays a kitchen Nazi with a sharp tongue and no patience for anything. She is happy to be associated with the team. “The script is very humorous. I really enjoyed playing Sherlock paati (meaning granny in Tamil), who is the main attraction of the show. The show aims to bridge the gap between Indians and NRIs with a funny take,” explains Lakshmi.
Fontana, an expat from the US, has been settled in Bengaluru for the last nine years. When asked why he chose Bengaluru, he says, “I have been to many cities. But personally, I feel that Bengaluru is the closest to America in terms of lifestyle. The IT hub also has the largest variety of people from different parts of the world living here. So I felt that the city could actually relate with the characters more than anybody else.”
According to Fontana, unlike others, BIB will not showcase ‘American stereotypes of Indians.’ “Most of the episodes are from my own personal experiences. The script has been written keeping the Indian audience in mind. NRIs, I believe, are the most confused people. How they manage to figure out their lives amid confusion is what BIB is based on,” he says.
BIB aims to bring out humour through exaggerated characters, he adds. Fontana has written seven episodes, and he has already shot the first two. The third episode is under production right now. He is now choosing the right platform to release the sitcom. While TV is the most popular choice, Fontana also has an eye on the rising popularity of the Internet in India. He, however, will soon decide on the platform. With BIB, India will be finally having its own original English sitcom programme, he signs off.