MUMBAI: UK broadcaster BBC has announced that filming has started on a television series based on Charles Dickens' classic Bleak House. The 16 episode series will air later this year on BBC One and will be made in high definition.
The cast includes Gillian Anderson X-Files, Charles Dance, Alistair McGowan, Pauline Collins and Johnny Vegas. Bleak House is generally regarded as one of the greatest-ever depictions of Victorian London in fiction. It is a skillfully crafted thriller and a passionate indictment of the legal system which the BBC states is as relevant today as it was in the mid 19th century.
Anderson's character the aloof yet beautiful Lady Dedlock hides a dark secret. Dance is the merciless lawyer Tulkinghorn who seeks to uncover it. Denis Lawson is the generous John Jarndyce, who is struggling with his past.
Patrick Kennedy and Carey Mulligan play the Jarndyce wards Richard and Ada. Anna Maxwell Martin plays the series' central character, orphan Esther Summerson, companion to Ada and whose connection to Lady Dedlock may bring ruin to both herself and Jarndyce.
The episodes will be shown twice a week, using the pace, multiple storylines and cliff-hanger endings more usually associated with popular drama. The series is being produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark. He said, "Dickens wrote Bleak House as a monthly serial for popular consumption, complete with multiple storylines and cliff-hanger endings for each part. A twice-weekly half-hour television serial felt like returning it to its natural state."
The series director Andrew Davies says, "The novel lends itself perfectly to this new approach because there are so many characters, so much life and numerous overlapping plots. It will give us a much fuller rendering of the book than we are normally able to achieve with a classic adaptation.
"It's an adaptation that hasn't been done before in this way - half-hour episodes shown twice a week rather than the more usual classic drama slot on Sunday nights.
The heart of the story is a group of young people starting out in life, discovering themselves and what life holds for them, and I've tried to make the adaptation lively and accessible for viewers of all ages."
China
India
Communist embracing capitalism controls for brands Democratic and capitalistic so restrictions to growth is minimal
Began from a 'culturally natural' position Large and diverse segment of middle class population but low average income
Very few Chinese traveled abroad prior to the 1990s Many Indians live abroad and have also come back to the country
China India
Communist embracing capitalism controls for brands Democratic and capitalistic so restrictions to growth is minimal
Began from a 'culturally natural' position Large and diverse segment of middle class population but low average income
Very few Chinese traveled abroad prior to the 1990s Many Indians live abroad and have also come back to the country
Looking at the above table, it is obvious that India has more potential than China to grow if the opportunity is tapped properly.
"At Esprit, our strategy is to look at the consumer of tomorrow and not the consumer of today and therefore focus on our brands and not on sales. If we have a good brand, sales will follow," Hammond said.
Cautioning companies who are looking to enter an international market, he said that companies should never localize their brands to suit the market that they were looking to enter.
"Don't compromise your international success recipe and don't build footfalls by compromising the price factor," he warned.
In a geographically large markets like India and China, where one part of the country may be really cold and the other may be warm, companies should keep in mind the seasonality and accordingly place their brands.
"Don't compromise on your international portfolio for short term sales. Also, don't decide for your customer, let the customer decide for himself," he said.
Hammond said that Espirit's advertising and promotional campaign was the same in all the markets that it had a presence in. "Our mission statement is that we are an international youthful lifestyle brand offering smart luxury, bringing newness and style to life," he said.
