It has been more than 200 years since Jane Austen first gave readers their favourite lovebirds, Lizzie Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy through Pride and Prejudice. However, in what could be a precedent for a literary trend, Austen’s characters have now been re-imagined into existence by author Curtis Sittenfeld in her new book Eligible, where she explores Austen’s tale as a contemporary one set not in Georgian England, but in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Pride and Prejudice — famous for its timeless appeal — might not be surprising as a first choice when it comes to adapting classics into modern day. However, it certainly won’t be the last to get such a rebirth, contend authors. With many of them working on adding their own touch and interpretations to classics, we get authors to offer their take on the trend along with classics that they’ve adapted and the ones which they would like to see breathing a new life.
Itisha Peerbhoy, Author, Half Love, Half Arranged
In many ways my book Half Love Half Arranged itself is a version of Jane Austen’s classic tale of love, Pride and Prejudice. It is a satire on the marriage market and the obsession with finding a mate in India. When it comes to marriage, society and its binding rules often force people to choose differently or rush in to something.
I didn't set out to re-interpret a classic. I don’t really deem myself worthy of doing so. But I found myself seeing the parallels. Sometimes I end up surprised at what I have written and I find it hard to believe that the words on the page are mine.
I think it’s important to re-interpret classics so that the younger audience doesn’t lose the stories and the invaluable messages aren't lost. If I ever were to reimagine or re-interpret one, it would probably be Gone with the Wind, with the current political scenario as backdrop.
Anand Neelakantan, Author of Asura and Ajaya series
Having reinterpreted the two great epics of India in my books (Ramayana through Asura and Mahabharata through Ajaya series), it is a difficult question to answer which classic I would like to reinterpret next. One classic that comes to my mind is Shakuntala’s tale. Abhijnanana Shakuntalam is Kalidasa’s interpretation of Vyasa’s Shakuntala of Mahabharata. A modern day reinterpretation would have Shakuntala as a small town idealistic girl seduced by an upcoming politician.
Unlike Kalidasa’s demure Shakuntala, it would be Vyasa’s strong-willed Shakuntala that would appeal more to the modern taste. Rather than modelling upon Kalidasa’s Dushyanta who forgets his lover because of a curse, I would prefer Vyasa’s Dushyanta who jilts Shakuntala willingly. That would appear more natural in a modern politician. What if the abandoned wife of this ruler takes on a journey to get back at her husband when both of them are at the eve of their lives? That would be some Shakuntala I would love to write about, maybe, after a few years.
Murzban F. Shroff, Author, Breathless in Bombay and Waiting for Jonathan Koshy
First, let us admit that a classic is rendered “timeless” only on the strength of the fact that it successfully taps into human emotions which are universal and ageless. A classic sets a goal which an adaptation strives for! Done skillfully, painstakingly, there is nothing wrong in attempting an adaptation.
My current novel, Waiting for Jonathan Koshy, is itself inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with its protagonist, Jonathan, having to deal with feelings of betrayal, due to his mother’s extramarital relationships. Jonathan’s burden is the same as Hamlet’s — to reconcile to a dysfunctional family life. If I had to reinterpret a classic, I would probably do a Grapes of Wrath by tracking the struggles of a family of Adivasis displaced by a power project and their attempts to settle into a Mumbai slum. It is not uncommon to detect a situation or a conflict similar to one in your favorite book. But, then, it becomes your duty as a writer to bring a certain authenticity and ingenuity to it.
Raghu Karnad, Author of Farthest Field
I see the outlines of classics in new books and movies all the time. So much of literature has been a process of harvesting the seeds of the classic stories and planting them in new fields — the best example, probably, is the paragon of modernist fiction, James Joyce’s Ulysses, which is a homage to Homer’s Odyssey. That’s a highbrow example. One of my most beloved writers, Terry Pratchett, wrote comic novels which were often homages to Shakespeare’s plays. Another great, unlikely Shakespeare homage: the teen-zombie-romance movie Warm Bodies.
Of stories that I would like to see adapted to modern setting, the Mahabharata is the most awesome, multivalent epic you could find. I’ve also always been impressed with how Othello plays out the horrible delirious power of male sexual jealousy.
