Mumbai, June 17: Zee Telefilms says it can still spot the difference between the two plots.

One action thriller has Jack Bauer, a CIA agent who heads the country’s Counter Terrorism Unit, uncovering a plot to assassinate US presidential nominee David Palmer. There were 24 episodes in the first season, spanning the 24 hours within which Bauer has to identify the killer and save Palmer’s life.

The episodes unfold in real time, with Bauer ? played by Emmy award nominee Kiefer Sutherland ? also trying to cope with a strained marriage and the serial points at the “Islamic threat” to the world.

Produced by 20th Century Fox, the serial, which is into its fourth season, is titled 24.

The other action thriller has Varun Avasthi, a RAW special agent who belongs to an “exclusive intelligence outfit” called the Agency to Counter Terrorism, uncovering a plot to assassinate young and dynamic Prime Minister Aniruddha Prakash.

There will be 24 episodes in the serial, spanning the 24 hours in which Avasthi has to identify the killers and save Prakash. The episodes again unfold in real time, making up the 24 hours of the single day, with Avasthi also coping with a strained marriage and threats.

Indian small-screen star Rajeev Khandelwal plays the lead here. The serial, which is produced by Zee Telefilms and scheduled to be aired from Monday, is called Time Bomb.

As the similarities are striking, despite Zee not thinking its serial has anything to do with the other one, 20th Century Fox has moved court.

Delhi High Court has issued a notice to Zee on a lawsuit filed by the US production company that alleged that Time Bomb was based on its 24.

The court did not stay the serial, but asked Zee to file its reply and affidavit on or before Monday. It also asked Zee to present before it a recording of the first episode of the serial.

Senior advocate R.K. Anand and C.M. Lall, appearing for 20th Century Fox, alleged that the Zee serial amount to infringement of copyright bestowed on the serial 24.

But Zee’s lawyers claimed that their thriller had nothing to do with the Fox serial and they were ready to pass the test in court. Zee’s spokesperson in Mumbai also stressed that the serial was unrelated to the American one. The similarities were coincidences, he said.

In a way, the Zee serial does go beyond the American one. Here, the plot morphs into the giant scheme of saving the world, as the protagonist realises that the conspiracy is only a ploy to distract attention from simultaneous plots to explode nuclear devices in Washington, London, Tel-Aviv and New Delhi.

If that wasn’t original enough, Time Bomb also features Osama!