The Office, a so-called "mockumentary" sitcom made famous by British comic Ricky Gervais as hapless boss David Brent of fictitious paper company Wernham Hogg, will be transformed to a fictional office on the outskirts of New Delhi.
The Slough, Berkshire, setting will become an industrial park in Faridabad with Jagdeep Chaddha as the boss of Wilkins Chawla paper company.
"I'm always excited and flattered to see remakes of my work but when a country with a population of over a billion has a version I'm hoping for big ratings," said Gervais, one of the writers and directors of the show alongside Stephen Merchant.
The original BBC version of The Office won numerous awards and spawned eight international versions in Europe since it first aired in the UK in 2001.The format has since travelled the world, with nine other local versions in countries including Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Finland and the US.
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"We have picked global successes such as The Office as we believe our audiences will love this series. After all, who hasn't come across workmates like David Brent at some point in their lives," said Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment.
The adaptation will focus on series one and two of the US version, which will be adapted into one series of 28 episodes.
Another popular BBC show to be re-made in India by Applause will be Criminal Justice, a drama series first aired on BBC in 2008. The Indian remake, which is yet to be titled, will be set in present day Mumbai where it will also be filmed and will feature a cast of Bollywood talent, both on and off screen, BBC Worldwide said.
The story will play out in a media frenzy elevating the case to dizzying heights and fundamentally impacting on the accused and his extended family, whose social standing will be severely affected as a result.
"We are very excited to be working with Applause Entertainment, and are assembling an A-list cast of talent to ensure the highest standards of execution We are confident this partnership will result in many more incredibly popular and well-loved Indian adaptations of BBC formats," said Myleeta Aga, senior vice-president and general manager, South East Asia and South Asia at BBC Worldwide.
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