I’ve done this before, but I have a really good feeling this time! Everyone’s home, binging on Poirot and Hastings and Jessica Fletcher. Time to CAST this thing!
Jessica Fletcher! Retired high school English teacher, widow, small town lover. She writes a mystery novel that turns into a surprise best seller, and starts a second act of life traveling to writing conferences, or to visit old friends, all over the world. Also, coincidentally, solving murders everywhere she goes, and also back in her hometown. In her hometown, she is joined by the younger ex-city cop sheriff, and her beau, the local doctor and a widower.
Okay, Who Can Play Jessica Fletcher?
Dimple Kapadia
Shabana Azmi
Rekha
Jaya Bachchan
Zeenat Aman
?????
Next question! The BBC version of Poirot is similar but different from the books, and I want to recast the BBC version. Poirot, fussy gentleman of a certain age who loves his clothes and his furniture. Hastings, about 10 years younger than Poirot, a bit dim, loves his cars. They travel the world together, share a home and a life, Hastings makes Poirot smile with his little charming ditzy moments, Poirot makes Hastings smile with his fussiness and constant politeness. Who can play these charming gentlemen?
Poirot:
Anupam Kher
Boman Irani
Irrfan Khan
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
?????
Hastings:
Sid M.
Harsh Kapoor
Arjun Rampal
Kunal Kapoor
????
I welcome other casting thoughts, who should play Jessica’s doctor beau, who should play Inspector Japp, and so on. But I think if we can just get Jessica, Poirot, and Hastings figured out, we will be well on our way.
dontcallitbollywood 
Anupam Kher would make a good Poirot, with his egg shaped head 🙂
Boman Irani would be a good Hastings. I don’t like the idea that Hastings is a much younger person than Poirot. I nominate Dimple Kapadia as Jessica. She will be perfect. Inspector Japp could be Vicky Kaushal
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Thank you! I need outside consultation on this very important question.
Anupam and Boman could be really good together, I like that.
Dimple Kapadia as Jessica, sold! In that case, who is Seth (her doctor boyfriend)? Rishi? Sunny? Amitabh?
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If it’s Dimple Kapadia, it has to be Rishi Kapoor.
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And then can Sunny be her one-episode-one-off guest star as an old high school boyfriend (Leslie Neilsen in the original)?
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 9:29 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Hmm.. he could be. Can’t it be Anil Kapoor? Suave and aging like good old wine.
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Yes!
Maybe Sunny as the rancher and army buddy of her dead husband who surprises her with a proposal?
And do we want a flashback showing her with Frank Fletcher, or leave him a mystery?
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 9:49 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Since we have a good assemble, may be we should just leave it as a mystery
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Vicky as Japp is a truly inspired choice.
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Would that make it feel too much like a love triangle though? Japp and Hastings competing for Poirot’s affection?
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 10:25 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I thought that was what the series WAS.
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I was writing a comment but it disapperaed in the middle 😦 Maybe it’s in spam.
I was saying that for me Shabana Azmi as Mrs Fletcher. And as the doctor – Gajraj Gao.
For Poirot, everybody except Anupam. Yes, he would be good in this role, but I can’t stand him as a person and don’t want him working.
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It feels like it should be Neena Gupta if it is Gajraj Rao, but then I like Shabana so much, I will allow it.
If not Anupam, what about Naseeruddin? Great as a person, and also as ana ctor.
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 9:36 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t like to see always the same couples, that’s why I didn’t mention Neena Gupta.
Naseeruddin or Boman as Poirot.
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Who as Hastings do you think? Would you vote Kunal, like Popka?
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 10:55 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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I don’t think Anupam is believable as that character. I don’t have faith in him projecting the right amount of haughtiness and the precision. I just watched him do a similar character in Hotel Mumbai, and while it worked, he has an undercurrent of emotionality and chaos. What we need is someone who can do a cold, withering stare. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has my vote, although Arjun R would have got it if he wasn’t physically the wrong type. I’d love to put forward Govinda, but loooooooooool. He could be Holmes because Holmes has a chaotic inner life, but Poirot does not.
Hastings, Kunal absolutely.
I won’t take anyone but Dimple for Jessica Fletcher. She has the warmth.
I have a lot of Poirot feelings.
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Wait, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Kunal Kapoor? Aren’t the ages wrong? Also, are we supposed to believe that Nawazuddin can pull someone like Kunal?
Also, for Poirot, can we make him Parsi instead of French? Fussy, wears the Parsi style clothes and food, has a funny name, people make assumptions about him, there is that frisson of tension in his relationship with Hastings because Hastings has a different background?
Also, maybe Hastings is part of an old landed family in India? So keep the hunter hobbies and the blindness to anything outside of his class experience? While Poirot is Bombay born and bred.
If Dimple is Jessica, Seth the doctor is Rishi? That seems to be the general vote, but you can go against it.
On Thu, Apr 9, 2020 at 10:23 AM dontcallitbollywood wrote:
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Kunal is slightly younger, I don’t think it’s a huge problem. I guess you could pick Harsh instead because he’s 1. stupid and 2. privileged which would work with the character.
Excuse you, Poirot is Belgian. I don’t know what the Indian equivalent for Belgian is. Part of a deeply disputed over and easy to mistake for somewhere else part of the country but not Kashmir.
No, I don’t like Rishi. I can’t think of anybody sweet enough.
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Oh oh! What about Sri Lanka? So India isn’t directly involved but has a connection, Poirot can still be a refugee, and this means he is Tamilian which means we have a whole new wealth of potential actors. Maddy?
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Sri Lanka is excellent, just enough racism to make it work.
Tamil actors are hard, their image doesn’t really work very well for it. I guess Maddy is probably the best fit but idk, none of them seem haughty enough.
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