Time and again, Bollywood has been blamed for not being able to come up with original ideas. The paucity of ideas is perhaps best reflected in films that derive their ‘inspiration’ from the West. And as it turns out, our TV industry is suffering from the same scarcity. While a few original shows have made their mark, several TV productions have lifted their plotlines from international shows. But with the competition between channels heating up, it looks like TV shows would rather have high TRPs than worry about plagiarism.

The Hindi version of 24, starring Anil Kapoor, is the first adaptation of the show and its India rights were acquired from Fox and producer Howard Gordon by Anil Kapoor Films

Salil Sand, who has worked on many shows as a creative director, admits that the Indian TV industry lacks fresh ideas. “Writers here are not given the credit and importance that they deserve. When a show or a film is appreciated, its success is always attributed to the actors, directors or the producers. Rarely is the writer’s role mentioned,” he says. Hitlist tells you which fiction shows have been lifted from their international counterparts...