- Malgudi days
Infobox Television
show_name = Malgudi Days
caption = A house in which Malgudi Days was shot inAgumbe ,Karnataka
format =TV Series
picture_format =480i (SDTV ),
runtime = approx. 22 minutes
creator =R. K. Narayan
director =Shankar Nag
language =Hindi
country = IND
network =DD National Sony Entertainment Television India TV Asia
num_seasons = 1
num_episodes = 39Malgudi Days is a collection of short stories by
R.K.Narayan that focused on the trial and tribulations of a small Indian town ofMalgudi . According to R.K. Narayan, Malgudi is a town "habited by timeless characters who could be living anywhere in the world" and is located on the banks of river "Sarayu" and surrounded by the Mempi Hills.Background
As an attempt to popularize television, the Government of India undertook several steps to popularize the already powerful medium. The
1970 s and1980 s saw a boom in television programming as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting invited independent producers and directors to shoot television serials on a regular basis; Malgudi Days was one such television serial.The serial was directed by the late Kannada actor and director,
Shankar Nag , and was shot entirely nearAgumbe inShimoga District ,Karnataka . The music was rendered byL. Vaidyanathan and was produced byT.S. Narasimhan of thePadam Rag Films . It included many of Narayan's short stories and novels such as "Swami and Friends " and "The Vendor of Sweets "."Vendor of Sweets" narrated the story of a sweet vendor, Jagan, his business and confrontation with his son who had returned from abroad. The title role was played by Kannada actor,
Anant Nag , and its plot is non-existent in the book."Swami and Friends" revolves around ten-year old Swaminathan, or Swami as he is known by other characters. Swami portrays the growing pangs of a boy who despises school, as he makes excuses and roams around
Malgudi with his friends. Swami's father works in a government office and his mother is a housewife. At home, Swami shares his adventures with his aged granny, who lovingly addresses him as "Chamy." Swami also has two close friends; Mani and the son of the Police Chief Superintendent, Rajam. Swami's character was enacted by Manjunath, a regular feature in many of Shankar Nag directed movies.The sketches for the serial were done by Narayan's brother and acclaimed cartoonist,
R.K. Laxman . Thirty-nine episodes of "Malgudi Days" were telecast onDoordarshan . Subsequently, it was re-telecast onDoordarshan and later on Sony Entertainment Television.Return of Malgudi Days
The National Film Award-winning film-maker
Kavitha Lankesh was recently hired byDoordarshan to re-shoot the serial in an effort to resuscitate it [http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/jul/21malgudi.htm] . Currently, she is creating 26 new episodes of "Malgudi Days" in Hindi based on R.K. Narayan's short stories/novel.External links
*imdb title|id=0244911|title=Malgudi Days
* [http://in.rediff.com/movies/2006/jul/21malgudi.htm Rediff.com - Return of Malgudi days]
* [http://www.rajshri.com/malgudidays/index.asp Rajshri.com - Malgudi days online]
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