DEATH ON THE NILESTARRING PETER USTINOV, MAGGIE SMITH, BETTE DAVIS

FORMAT FEATURE FILM

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S POIROT

There is little doubt that the 13-season series with David Suchet as the Belgian

detective with the egg-shaped head is the best known adaptation of Chris-

tie’s works. Since its debut on ITV in 1989, it ran for almost 25

years in 200 countries

STARRING DAVID SUCHET

FORMAT TV SERIES

STARRING ALBERT FINNEY, INGRID BERGMAN

FORMAT FEATURE FILM

The 1974 adaptation of one of Christie’s most beloved books revolves around the brutal murder of an American tycoon in the luxuri-ous Orient Express train, stuck in a snow drift. Albert Finney dons the role of Hercule Poirot, who must find out which of the passengers is guilty. The film fetched Ingrid Bergman the Oscar for best supporting actress

STARRING GERALDINE MCEWAN & JULIA MCKENZIE

FORMAT TV SERIES

A more recent ITV series which debuted in 2004 in the UK, it had two different actors in the title role. Though it started with direct adaptations from the Miss Marple novels, the later episodes included adap-tations of novels that did not originally feature her

MISS MARPLE

The BBC adaptation of all 12 of the novels featuring the wispy-haired Jane Marple of St Mary Mead village has Joan Hickson in the lead role. It was aired from 1984 to 1992. Christie had seen Hickson in a stage production of Appointment with Death and had written to her, “I hope one day you will play my dear Miss Marple”

STARRING JOAN HICKSON

FORMAT TV SERIES

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S MARPLE

10OCTOBER 25-31, 2020

centrespread centrespread 11OCTOBER 25-31, 2020

AGATHA IN INDIA

Ever since “Queen of Crime” Agatha Christie’s debut novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, written exactly a century ago,

in 1920, was adapted eight years later, her bestsellers have inspired a host of filmmakers and writers. Vishal Bhardwaj is the

latest to join that long line, with his recent announcement that he will be embarking on a series of adaptations.

Take a look at some of the best-known screen adaptations of Christie’s thrillers:

:: Indulekha Aravind

THE PALE HORSE

The two-episode BBC mini series is adapted from the 1961 novel which does not feature either of Christie’s most famous detectives. With a good dash of the occult and horror, it debuted in February 2020

Bhardwaj’s will not be the

first Indian adaptation of

Christie’s works. Here are

some of its predecessors:

The Films: Gumnaam (Hindi), Nadu Iravil & Aduthathu (Tamil), Aatagara (Kannada)

The Inspiration:

And Then There Were None

DEATH ON THE NILE

The 1937 novel set on the SS Karnak cruise ship gets a reprisal in this new adaptation, set to be released in December 2020. This will be Branagh’s second portrayal of the Belgian detec-tive, after the 2017 adaptation of Mur-der on the Orient Express, which also starred Johnny Depp and Judi Dench

AND THEN THERE WERE NONEStarring: Douglas Booth, Maeve Dermody

Format: TV Series

Ten strangers are invited to an isolated island off the Devon

coast by a Mr and Mrs Owen, who never appear. Then the

guests start getting murdered, one by one. Considered

among the best Christie mysteries, the 2015 BBC adapta-

tion is the first screen version to incorporate the writer’s

original ending.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

Ten strangers are invited to an isolated island off the Devon coast by Mr and Mrs Owen, who never appear. Then the guests start getting murdered, one by one. Considered among the best Christie mysteries, the 2015 BBC adapta-tion is the first screen version to incorporate the writer’s original ending

CROOKED HOUSE

When the wealthy patriarch of a large family is murdered, his granddaughter commissions her former lover to find out who in the “Crooked House” did it, before Scotland Yard finds out the secrets of three generations of the family. The 2017 adaptation was written by Julian Fellowes and Tim Rose Price

The Film: Chupi Chupi Aashey (Bengali)

The Inspiration:

The Mousetrap

The Film: Dhund

(Hindi)

The Inspiration:

The Unexpected Guest

Source: Variety, www.agathachristie.com

The Films: Chorabali (Bengali)

The Inspiration:

Cards on the Table

The Film: Grandmaster

(Malayalam)

The Inspiration:

The ABC Murders

Vishal's Whodunnit

Vishal Bhardwaj is set to shoot his first

adaptation of Christie's works from early 2021The series will feature

a “new pair of lead

investigators”

A young heroine will team up with “an

unlikely companion”

AND THEN THERE WERE MANY

The 1978 British production sees the debut of Peter Ustinov as Poirot, who is supposed to be enjoying a holiday on a luxury steamer when an heiress is mysteriously killed. It’s up to Poirot to figure out which of his fellow passengers did it. The cast includes A-listers like Bette Davis, Maggie Smith and Mia Farrow

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

STARRING KENNETH BRANAGH, GAL GADOT

STARRING DOUGLAS BOOTH, MAEVE DERMODY

STARRING RUFUS SEWELL, KAYA SCOLEDARIO

FORMAT FEATURE FILM

FORMAT TV SERIES

STARRING GLENN CLOSE, MAX IRONS, GILLIAN ANDERSON

FORMAT FEATURE FILM

FORMAT MINI SERIES

CONTEMPORARY TWIST

THE CLASSICS