Kiran Rao, the filmmaker behind Laapataa Ladies and Dhobi Ghat, has long been associated with art-house calm rather than buzzy pop culture. But on The Popcorn Hour, she made a confession that changes the picture: she has fallen for a K-drama, and she already has a remake in mind.
The show is Reply 1988, the slice-of-life Korean series that still gets cited as a gold standard for ensemble storytelling. Directed by Shin Won-ho and released in 2015, it follows five childhood friends and their families in Seoul’s Ssangmun-dong neighbourhood.
“Best K-drama is a show called Reply 1988. It’s a fantastic show. It’s actually set in 1988. In fact, that’s something I would love to remake,” Rao said on the podcast.
Why the parents are the real hook
Rao did not praise the drama mainly for its teenage romance or coming-of-age moments. Instead, she placed the emotional weight on the older generation.
“The genuine jewel of this show is the older women, the mothers, and the fathers. They are just so good,” she said.
She also made a cultural connection that Indian viewers will immediately recognise. The Korean drama is set in a Seoul neighbourhood, and Rao pointed out that in Kolkata the same kind of close-knit locality is called a para. That shared idea of neighbours who know one another’s struggles is the adaptation hook.
It fits the films Rao already makes
Rao’s own filmography keeps returning to community bonds. Dhobi Ghat built itself on interconnected Mumbai lives, while Laapataa Ladies found its heart in rural women looking out for each other. Reply 1988 offers that same material at a larger scale: families, food, money worries and friendships that grow from a shared lane rather than a plot twist.
That is why the idea has set fans talking. A Korean drama about a neighbourhood in 1988, translated into an Indian setting with Rao’s eye for ordinary people, feels like a natural match.
Why Bollywood fans are paying attention
Rao is not a director who chases trends, so when she singles out a mainstream Korean drama, the recommendation carries weight. It also arrives at a moment when Indian audiences no longer treat Korean storytelling as a niche import. Streaming has made shows like Reply 1988 part of the same weekly conversation as Hindi films and series, which means a remake would find an audience that already understands the grammar.
Still, an adaptation would have to earn its place. The original is beloved because of its specific time and place, not in spite of them. An Indian version would need its own 1988—its own music, middle-class anxieties and mohalla rhythms—to feel like a tribute rather than a translation.
What an Indian version would need to get right
For now, this is a wish, not a signed project. There is no cast, production house or timeline attached. If it does move forward, these are the tests that would matter:
- Place: the story needs a lived-in Indian neighbourhood that can carry 1988 nostalgia without feeling like a backlot.
- Parents first: the older characters would need to carry the emotional plot, because Rao sees them as the show’s real jewel.
- Restraint: Reply 1988 works through small gestures and family history, not twists, so the pacing would have to stay gentle.
What to do until there is news
The best next step for the curious is to watch Reply 1988 itself and imagine the Indian para that could hold its lane-level bonds. No one should read the podcast conversation as a green light—but it is a clear sign of where one of Indian cinema’s most distinctive directors is looking for inspiration.
Source: Filmfare