Andrew Davies interview: ‘Sanditon’ writer on his new BBC drama ‘A Suitable Boy’
Sanditon writer Andrew Davies’ new period drama series began last night.
Based on Vikram Seth’s modern classic, A Suitable Boy tells the story of a young woman’s search for love and identity in India during the 1950s.
The six-part mini-series is airing in the UK on Sunday nights on BBC One and it’ll premiere worldwide on Netflix later this year.
Watch the trailer:
First published in 1993, Seth’s novel has been adapted by award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice, Mr Selfridge).
Here Davies chats about the process of bringing A Suitable Boy to the screen…
How did you become aware of Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy?
“I first read Vikram Seth’s lovely novel about 20 years ago when somebody asked me if I wanted to adapt it. I had the great pleasure of reading it and, at that time, I just felt it was perfect as it was. That maybe nobody should adapt it.
“But then in 2019 I got asked again. I had adapted War and Peace, a Russian masterpiece, and Les Misérables, a French masterpiece, so I thought it was a good time to work on an Indian masterpiece, and it’s been such a joy.”
What is at the heart of A Suitable Boy?
“At the heart of this very simple story, there is a girl called Lata and the question of who is she going to marry, if anybody?
“It is all set against all the turmoil of an emerging nation, India, in 1951, just a few years after partition with all these stresses, strains and political difficulties.”
Who are the principal characters at the heart of A Suitable Boy?
“At the centre of the book we have two lovely charismatic characters, Lata and Maan, and right at the beginning of the story we get a sense that perhaps they’re going to be together.
“Lata is a university student, on the threshold of life. Maan is a bad boy; his father is an important politician who is very disappointed in his son’s failure to settle to anything.
“However, we love Maan because he’s impulsive, charming and he falls in love with a rather unsuitable person. That love story is one that absolutely fascinates us.”
What aspects of the story will a modern audience identify with?
“The one thing that all audiences identify with is a love story. There are three possible suitors – which boy is she going to choose? People will identify with the idea of young people struggling for their independence, that struggle to stay close to your family but also still forge your own life. Both Lata and Maan are trying to do that in different ways.
“We also see it from the parents’ point of view, which is powerful. Lata’s mother Mrs Rupa Mehra is such a lovable character. She is determined to boss her children about but they love each other so much.
“We want her to be happy with the outcome of the story and we want Mahesh Kapoor to be happy with his son too. He loves his son but has trouble showing it as Maan is so disappointing in his conduct.”
Could you talk us through how you adapted A Suitable Boy?
“The adaptation process was pretty difficult as there is so much story in the novel. I concentrated on the two characters of Lata and Maan and restricted myself to the aspects of the story that they concern.
“That was the guiding principle; it was a long process to distil it down to six hours.
How has it been working with author Vikram Seth?
“It’s been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to work with Vikram. I was so honoured that he approved of me to adapt his wonderful novel.
“He’s been a delightful companion, very generous and sharing. Of course he’s so knowledgeable about the project that I’ve been able to draw from him personally, as well as from the book, so it’s been great.
“I’ve made a friend in him, which is lovely.”
What would you like audiences to take from your adaptation?
“I would like the audience to be thrilled and moved, and also to learn something about what India has gone through in the last 50, 60 or 70 years.
“It’s a great story and it’s got such lovely characters. It is funny as well – I think our audience will laugh a lot.”
Vikram Seth’s novel A Suitable Boy is available on Amazon.