We have finally started watching the Jeeves and Wooster DVD set I bought recently. My husband and I have read each of the books so many times that it is great fun knowing what line is to come next – the anticipation and then the pure pleasure of hearing it said in those rich English tones.
As difficult as it is to recreate the magic that surrounds Wodehouse language, the series has managed it considerably. This is what I found on the P.G.Wodehouse books website – In 1989 Stephen Fry & Hugh Laurie were approached about playing Jeeves & Bertie Wooster in the first television adaptation of PG Wodehouse for over twenty years. They were initially unconvinced about taking on the characters However after seeing the quality of the scripts they agreed.
Hugh Laurie is just perfect as Wooster – he is my idea of Bertie – bumbling and clueless. Stephen Fry as Jeeves, while is superb, is taking a bit of getting used to. For one, I had always pictured Jeeves as older, much older than Bertie. I have no idea why. And then, there is that smug look on Fry-Jeeves’ face that I cannot digest – Jeeves does not smile that way, if Jeeves if feeling smug (as he no doubt does all the time, what with Bertie’s negligible intellect, I am sure he does not show it that way.
We were watching “Gussie presents the prizes” last night (one of my absolute favorite pieces from PG) – and in the first scene, As Gussie steps out of the cab, my husband and I both identified him correctly. And then at Brinkley Manor, Madeline Basset was just perfect, soppy and treacly as ever. However, a different Madeline Basset in the other episodes, nowhere near Wodehouse’s Basset – none of the soupiness.
And I immediately thought of Amisha Patel – my perfect Madeline – from whose lips ‘don’t you think stars are god’s daisy chains‘ would not sound terribly preposterous. Or even every time a fairy sneezes,a wee baby is born (which as we well know, is not the case). And from there to wondering who the other characters (from Indian TV / cinema) would be was for me but a morning’s job – the closest I could come to Wooster was Ritesh Deshmukh (yes, I know, it was a pleasant though not very fruitful morning I spent on this) – so who will your Wooster be? and Jeeves?
Ritesh Deshmukh? Hmm. He certainly comes across as silly, but where’s the to-the-manor-born type of class? Perhaps Saif, before he became muscle-y and sexy, would have made an endearing Wooster.
I did think of Saif but I just cannot imagine him going what-ho what-ho what-ho what-ho 🙂
On the one hand, I am built like Jeeves, and can carry him off totally. On the other, I am bumbling, naive and have great aptitude for a life of carefree comfort, of tootling around on two-seater cars. Perhaps I will play both. Nothing a little make-up can’t fix.
Deepa beat me to Saif. The muscles can be hidden under the suit.
Boman Irani for Jeeves?
Who would be Bobby Wickham? Vidya Balan in a red wig? Eeewww. Preity, perhaps? She could also do Psmith’s Eve Halliday.
And Archana Puran Singh for Honoria Glossop, the laugh like ‘a squadron of cavalry charging over a tin bridge’.
Anupam Kher, with lots of Valium, for Lord Em.
And if Shashi Kapoor could slim down, he would be Uncle Fred.
I didn’t like Hugh Laurie in the series. Speaks much too fast. PGW’s lines need time to savour the flavour.
J.A.P.