By Iyma Atiq
For years the Bollywood film industry has been seen as one consisting of film makers and producers remaking and adapting films and books from different industries and cultures. Is it time for a cut down now that the Bollywood scene has changed?
The past ten years of Bollywood has seen the release of many remakes and adaptation’s of major films and famous books originating from countries and places outside of India. The main question that is brought into mind is whether or not there should be a cut down of the number of remakes released?
Looking at past examples of Bollywood takes on other foreign films, it seems fair to say that some have not earned a reputable reputation for being great adaptations, nor have they earned enough at box office to become a hit. One example being David Dhawan’s 2007 release Partner, a film that its director claimed was inspired by the Will Smith film Hitch that ended up being a scene by scene remake, despite earning a healthy amount at the box office. The film was criticised for not having much originality, besides the occasional song and dance number. Another example was the 2006 release Zinda, starring John Abraham and Sanjay Dutt remade from the Korean hit Oldboy. The film was criticised heavily as viewers and critics saw it as a rip- off of the Korean hit. Producers of the original even expressed concerns of the fact that there were many similarities between the two films. The positive points of the remake were the performances. According to critics, John Abraham and Sanjay Dutt’s performances were very well done, but the films plot and settings highlighted too many similarities to the original it was supposed to be based on. Films like these two often show that many remakes lack in originality. In Bollywood it seems the only original ideas for remakes like Partner or God Tussi great Ho, were the singing and dancing that were performed in a few scenes. However, this did not stop viewers from realising that these were scene by scene remakes with barely any changes made to the scripts to make them different to the original productions.
Original films in Bollywood are mainly the ones that are a big success. Films like Mughal-e-Azam, Baghban and Hum aap ke hain kaun all became top grossers of their time and all were original ideas from directors and producers. Remakes are nothing to look down upon, but something to be carefully considered by film makers. Many Bollywood fans today would agree with the fact that remaking a film would require a few things to make them distinct from the original. Scene by scene remakes prove to be disappointing and a waste of money. Adding an Indian twist onto storylines originating from Hollywood or other world cinema can be a success if only a few things are kept the same, such as storylines and characters. With news of further remakes soon out for release (Agneepath springs to mind); let us hope that Bollywood fans should hold no disappointment to the latest adaptations.
Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the pictures on this blog loading? I’m trying to find out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.