10 Facts About ‘Woh,’ the Pennywise ‘It’ Adaptation You Didn’t Know Existed
What To Know
- Woh is a 1998-1999 Hindi-language TV series loosely adapted from Stephen King’s It.
- Though Woh is similar, there are quite a few key differences with the American versions.
Since his introduction to audiences as a child-eating clown lurking in the sewers beneath Derry in 1986, Pennywise the Dancing Clown has become one of the most enduring and terrifying figures in modern horror. Be it Tim Curry or Bill Skarsgård behind the facepaint, the ancient, cosmic shapeshifter who feeds on the fear and flesh of the young has been a figure of horror for several generations thanks to the ongoing legacy of It.
Inspiring coulrophobia for over 40 years, Pennywise has managed to dance his way from the written word to television to the silver screen, shape-shifting his way through pop culture. So, it only makes sense if he makes it out of Derry to terrify audiences outside of the United States?
In India, Woh was a Hindi-language TV series that aired on Zee TV from 1998 to 1999. Loosely inspired by Stephen King‘s It, the show reworked the novel’s core premise for Indian television audiences. Adapted for the local audience, the story embraces the themes of the original tale, particularly when it comes to the evil clown at the center of the story.
Fascinated? Here is a breakdown of Woh, the adaptation of It that you didn’t know existed.
1. The central story is the same
YouTube/Zee TV
2. The clown in Woh is a bit more of a tragic figure
Pennywise is an ancient being from beyond our universe who treats Derry as It’s personal feeding ground. It’s lore in the films and TV adaptations is rich and layered, but the novel goes even deeper, framing the cosmic shapeshifter as part of a vast and complex “Macroverse” that extends far beyond Earth. It doesn’t have feelings, It doesn’t have empathy, It is just a malicious feeding machine that enjoys the taste of terrified tots.
However, in Woh, the clown-like entity is just a supernatural villain who was originally a man named Vikram (played by actor Lilliput). He is a vengeful spirit of a short man who was bullied for his small stature. According to the series, he fell in love with a great beauty, but she mocked him and broke his heart. He took a job as a clown to always remind himself of that mockery and his lot in life. After he took his own life, his grave was invaded by a magical force that turned him into a “boogeyman” after a life of extreme societal rejection.
3. It is set in the town of Panchgani
According to It lore, Derry is the town where the creature crashed to Earth before hibernating for many millennia. Once awakened, it resurfaced every 27 years to feed and unleash a cycle of violence. In Woh, the story unfolds in the hill town of Panchgani, giving the adaptation a distinctly Indian setting and atmosphere.
4. The Losers Club is a little different
YouTube/Zee TV
The seven teenagers at the center of the story are Ashutosh, the protagonist and writer who first notices Woh’s return (a Bill analogue); Raja, his closest friend and the romantic of the group; Julie, the lone girl in the circle (similar to Beverly); Ronnie, the jokester (akin to Richie); Shiva, the bravest of the group; Sanjeev, who dies before the second reunion (echoing Stanley); and Rahul, a protective figure whose younger brother is killed by Woh (also paralleling Bill).
5. The friends return to battle Woh as young adults
Instead of 27 years, as in It, the friends in Panchgani return after 15 years, prompted by Ashutosh’s sightings of stray balloons and reports of missing children.
All of the friends come back except Sanjeev, the group’s Stanley figure, who is killed by Woh before he can reunite with the others.
6. Woh is reincarnated after he is killed a second time
Seven years after the second battle with Woh, Ashutosh realizes that his son Siddharth is the reincarnation of Woh on his seventh birthday, or at least hosting the spirit of the malicious, evil clown. To exorcize him, the friends work together to go back to the cave where Woh lived, where they reveal his sad backstory. They convince him to leave the young boy alone and appease the angry spirit, ending the cycle for good.
7. Little George is not pulled into the sewer
In the series, Woh meets Georgie in his swimming pool in his backyard instead of a sewer. Apparently, this was because in the town where Woh was filmed, there were no sewers.
8. Woh was also a limited series, but in many, many parts
Woh ran for 52 episodes during its original broadcast on Zee TV in 1998. The show ran for nearly a full year with weekly installments of roughly half-hour episodes.
9. Woh is more of a thriller
The original It miniseries, the feature films, and most recently It: Welcome to Derry all lean heavily into psychological horror and include a considerable amount of graphic violence to reinforce the story’s unsettling tone. Woh is more of a thriller, with far less emphasis on horror and violence and more emphasis on friendship, family drama, and melodrama.
10. There was a sequel
Years later, a second series called Woh: The Return aired, but it did not follow Stephen King’s structure and was more of a standalone spiritual sequel.
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