Barfi to get a television avatar?

Barfi, the endearing character played to perfection by Ranbir Kapoor, may be soon arriving on TV and graphic novels.

Although director Anurag Basu refutes reports of a sequel to Barfi!, he is open to keeping the character alive beyond the precincts of the film.

According to a source, "Anurag is, in principle, opposed to the idea of sequels. He has firmly cut down the suggestion of a Barfi! 2.

"However he is open to renewing Barfi's life-span in print form and maybe even an animated television series. The idea is to take the inspirational aspect of Barfi's character beyond the film."

There are also talks of seeking Aamir Khan's help as the makers work out a strategy to promote the film at the Oscars, following it's selection as India's official entry to the academy awards this year.

Basu confirms that he's planning to take Barfi further.

"We are discussing some possibilities. But it's too early to talk about them. A sequel is definitely out of the question. Where will I take Barfi's story when he is already dead? If the producers feel comfortable with the idea they're welcome to do a sequel."

The move to take the character to another medium may have to do with its popularity and the film's selection as India's entry to the Oscars this year.

Basu is visibly excited about this development.

He says, "The Oscar nomination is like a bonus. I was holed in my room writing my next script when the Oscar news came, so I had no clue until late in the night. I do admit though that I knew Barfi! would be liked by critics and would go to various film festivals.

"It has already been selected for the Pusan, Marrakesh and the Taipei film festival. I was overwhlemed by the response Barfi! got. I never expected it to become so popular.

"I always looked up to Raj Kumar Hirani's filmsthat are inspirational and are warmly embraced by the masses. Now Barfi! has done the same."

The filmmaker has entirely left the promotional startegy for Oscars to his producers at UTV. "They have more experience in the matter. This is my first film that's going to the Oscars, so I am clueless about how things work."

Basu divulges that the Barfi! team may take Aamir Khan's help in getting their film to the Oscars. "Aamir knows how to position an Indian film at the Academy Awards.

"We'd be happy to follow his lead. At the moment we're yet to devise a strategy. Abhi LA (Los Angeles) door hai (LA is far for now)."

As for the franchise going into graphic and animation form, the areas are now being "seriously explored" with many global parties willing to invest in the franchise.

Basu's next two films are biopics on Bihar's globally celebrated mathematician Anand Kumar and Kishore Kumar.

He says, "I first need signatures on legal documents authorising me to make films on these two very different and dynamic people. I also need a letter of consent from Anand and Kishore-da's family.

"Luckily for me , both the parties are more than happy about the prospects of a film on these people. But there's a great deal of research to go through. No producer would touch a biopic without a legal letter of consent authorising me to make the film."