What happens when novels get adapted into movies?

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“They deleted the main scene of the story!”, “The movie didn’t do justice to the narrative”, “The book is so much better!”, “I wish the casting was better” are some of the common responses you hear from the mouths of people just coming out of a theatre.

Till now there have been so many adaptations worldwide that we can say that the execution of a plot is unpredictable. Some adaptations are faithful, some take a significant turn due to varied interpretations, while some fail to grasp the essence of the story.

The discussion following the release of an adaptation always constitutes the differences and comparisons between the novel and the movie. You simply can’t go beyond this point; such discussions are instinctive and inevitable. Adaptations are all about interpretations and that’s when our propensity to analyze the differences come into play. The adaptation also brings into attention several nuances that we otherwise fail to notice while reading. It also tests our imagination and serves as a gateway to enter someone else’s mind. Owing to this, it can bring about self-doubt, but not to worry, your imagining power is just at the right place.

Some of the questions that automatically comes into one’s mind while trying to understand a novel and its adaptation are:

1. Were all the characters rightly represented?
2. Was the movie descriptive enough to do justice to the narrative?
3. Can the movie be misleading for the viewers who haven’t read the novel?
4. Did the absence of a character bring any significant difference to the narrative?
5. Was the novel just better-off alone?

What happens when an adaptation is released?

1. A new perspective and interpretation is disseminated that attempts to accommodate a larger understanding of the narrative. Owing to this, you might feel your imagination is being tested, but no, it is just another imagination earning money in the market.
2. Some novels that are very contemplative and meditative, or have an individualistic character might not be able to do justice to the narrative as they might have less dialogue and only describe what’s going on in a character’s mind.
3. Sometimes, significant differences can be noticed in terms of settings, dialogues, language and characterization. Sometimes, your favourite scenes from the novels won’t even make it to the screen. Such an approach can happen due to time constraints or personal understanding.
4. Adaptations help you to better understand a narrative when you finally encounter the visual side of it. You feel, understand, see and experience the story in a completely new dimension.
5. If you read the novel after watching the adaptation, it can limit your imagination skills. For instance, your propensity to envision a celebrity playing the role of a character can greatly reduce.

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Why is it important to compare the novel and the adaptation?

1. You get a larger understanding of a whole new century. Being the products of their time, directors incorporate their own interpretations onto the movie. An adaptation taking place in a new century helps to contextualize and comment on contemporary times. In this way, they serve as a great way to understand the same theme in a different socio-political atmosphere altogether. One of the biggest examples of all time is?Devdas?(1917) written by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.

One of the first adaptations of?Devdas?was directed by Prathamesh Chandra Barua that shows the conflicting cultures of city and village life respectively. The son of a zamindar family is sent to the city for education where he experiences realities and later struggles with inner conflicts. And then there is Anurag Kashyap’s modern adaptation?Dev.D?(2009) that attempts to contextualize a disoriented man in modern times; the technological times. Both the movies place a self-destructive hero in a completely different context.

1. Do?Omkara?(2006),?Maqbool?(2004),?Haider?(2014),?Angoor?(1982) ring any bells? Some of you will definitely know the plays these movies have been adapted from. And if you know the plays, then you know William Shakespeare. So, what does it mean to adapt a narrative from another culture to one’s own? Such adaptations reflect a cross-cultural understanding. Cultures and identities being mobile, do cross boundaries and arrive places.

In adaptations like these, the setting, language, socio-political atmosphere is a tad changed but the larger understanding of politics existing within humanity comes through; the themes of betrayal, power, love, madness are shown through such adaptations which continuously remind us that themes are universal. Such adaptations turn out to be reflections of our society because the director attempts to understand the Indian society through the Shakespearean lens. It also helps us to go back to the past and understand the narrative in foreign settings like Italy, England, etc.

Conclusion

Deciding whether to read the novel first or watch the movie can be a tad conflicting because they can be unpredictable. Sometimes you will end up liking the adaptation and at other times, completely dislike it. At times, just watching the movie or only reading the novel might disappoint you to the extent that you might miss out on amazing adaptations or a beautiful narrative. But amidst all this, the beauty lies in drawing out the comparisons that instinctively comes out. It is due to such understandings and disagreements we learn more about our imagination and how our imagining power creates a whole new world altogether!

About the writer

Rhea Choudhury, Blog Writer,?Inkfeathers Publishing

Rhea Choudhury is currently pursuing MA in English and Cultural Studies from Christ University, Bangalore. She believes in writing from experience and encourages others to do so as well. Her area of interest lies in Fat studies and wants to do research in this particular field.