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A Suitable Boy

181 replies

GCAcademic · 12/07/2020 21:23

Just seen that this starts on 26 July on the Beeb.

I love, love, love the book. I read it during lockdown and wanted to start reading it again as soon as I finished it. Am hovering between excitement and apprehension in case the TV series is a let down.

Anyone else looking forward to this?

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Breadstick25 · 20/07/2020 17:23

My favourite book at age 18. Can’t wait and really hoping it doesn’t end up being another awful Beecham House!

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GCAcademic · 26/07/2020 13:16

Bumping for tonight. 9pm on BBC One.

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GlottalStrop · 26/07/2020 14:43

Eek. Excited :).

Saying that, trying not to big it up too much as I've done sometimes with favourite books in the past.

JayAlfredPrufrock · 26/07/2020 21:55

Struggled with the book and this is no better.

wherestheotherone · 26/07/2020 21:56

Was look forward to it but I'm a bit bored.

lazymum99 · 26/07/2020 21:57

Switched it off half way through. It seemed to be all over the place.

hopeishere · 26/07/2020 22:00

It wasn't the best start... can't put my finger on what was wrong as a pp said jumped about a lot. But will give it a go next week anyway.

Arrivederla · 26/07/2020 22:01

Loved it. Can't wait for the next episode.

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GCAcademic · 26/07/2020 22:03

The script is awful: dull and expository, with none of the wit and texture of Seth’s writing. I just knew they were going to ruin the book.

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Crinkle77 · 26/07/2020 22:14

@wherestheotherone

Was look forward to it but I'm a bit bored.
Yes I was bored too. Not sure if I'm going to watch again next week.
ValancyRedfern · 26/07/2020 22:23

I really didn't get on with that. I was looking at the clock from 9.35. I found the dynamic between Maan (?) and the singer really icky. Had to hide behind a cushion when they were shagging and it looks like there's more of that next week. Bleurgh. Also the cut away to the lovely Muslim boy with the sunshine behind him like a halo really was hitting us over the head with a brick. We got the idea of why she was upset.

Clawdy · 26/07/2020 22:26

Am I the only one who thought there was an implication that Maan was gay, near the beginning?

ValancyRedfern · 26/07/2020 22:26

Yes. Totally!

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GCAcademic · 26/07/2020 22:28

@Clawdy

Am I the only one who thought there was an implication that Maan was gay, near the beginning?
There is a hint of that in the book, but it’s very incidental and not developed.
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museumum · 26/07/2020 22:29

I quite enjoyed it, but I haven’t read the book for nearly 20 years and it was about that king ago I was last in India. I’m enjoying the nostalgia

ProggyMat · 26/07/2020 22:30

Loved tonight’s episode despite the ‘jumping about bits’ .
Have ordered book and can’t wait for next week!

Crinkle77 · 26/07/2020 22:30

@Clawdy

Am I the only one who thought there was an implication that Maan was gay, near the beginning?
Yes I thought that too. I wondered if it was a different character at first when he became mesmerised by her singing.
JellyfishandShells · 26/07/2020 22:33

Visually great, acting very variable, clunky script - it’s let the book down. Not tempted to watch again.

Boredsilly · 27/07/2020 09:33

I loved the costumes and music, but the story itself I got a bit bored with but will watch the next episode to see if it improves

WarmthAndDepth · 27/07/2020 09:42

I have been so excited about this. I read the book while living in India in my 20s, and my impressions of characters and settings were obviously informed by this, so I was really pleased to see it was an all Indian cast, and filmed in India, though this seems obvious.
I picked up the book again last week in anticipation and it was like seeing old friends. But reading just the first chapter, I realised no script will convey Seth's subtle characterisation. The detail is delightful. This set me up for last night's viewing, so expected a broad brush approach. I almost feel like it was a set of cameos, a sort of homage to a charming literary work, which you will only really 'get' if you have read the book. Will definitely be watching again, and feel sorry that the first episode is getting such harsh treatment on Twitter and elsewhere.
Great user name btw, OP, keep up the good work.

stumbledin · 27/07/2020 15:04

I've never read the book Blush and was expecting something a bit grittier. Maybe more politics and social background, instead of just glimpses.

The style seemed more soap opera. Was intrigued by the night club scene.

But it was so beautiful to watch.

And I love the music and singing.

So glad that it has been cast and filmed in India.

Would love to see what an Indian audience thinks of it!

stumbledin · 27/07/2020 15:12

I wonder if the BBC would have dared make this with the dialogue in Hindi and ??? with english subtitles!

That would have been quite a challenge for the Sunday 9pm slot.

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GCAcademic · 27/07/2020 15:52

@stumbledin

I wonder if the BBC would have dared make this with the dialogue in Hindi and ??? with english subtitles!

That would have been quite a challenge for the Sunday 9pm slot.

The Indian languages would be Hindi, Urdu and (in Calcutta) Bengali. But many of the characters are English speaking anyway as they are from a social elite. The Brahmpur Parliament is conducted in English (if I remember correctly, in the book, Mahesh Kapoor, who is a minister, can’t even read Hindi). Arun and his wife would have communicated in English as her family is from Calcutta, while he is from a Hindi-speaking state. The university that Lata attends would also have been English-medium (which is still the case in many Indian universities today). The question of language post-independence is still a politically-vexed one, and there is reference to this in the book (and, yes, there is a lot of politics in the book, but it’s wonderfully balanced by the detail and intimacy of family life).
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WarmthAndDepth · 27/07/2020 16:05

Someone on Twitter was asking this, Stumbled, but one of the many delights of the book is that it portrays the characters as distinctly multilingual, and this adds to the characterisation and texture of the book. English, Hindi, Urdu and Bengali are spoken by characters throughout the novel, and there are brief nods to this in the TV drama, it seems, but as the book was written in English, and English is the language predominantly spoken by members of Lata's family, it is congruent with the original text.
I have some Indian pupils at my school whose parents are lecturers at a local university; they have attended English medium schools (English as the main language of tuition) in India, and the families communicate in English and Hindi interchangeably. When in India, I taught briefly at such a school, and again, families would often speak English quite casually.

stumbledin · 27/07/2020 16:43

Thanks for the language info - just shows my ignorance and the fact that the wonderful singer in the tv series is a very famous Bollywood star!

Apparently the tv show is not available in India.