By Iyma Atiq.
The remake of Amitabh Bachchan classic, Agneepath has been released this January. With rumours of other revamps of all time classics in the works, now is the time for directors to think, is it really worth remaking the golden oldies of Indian Cinema?
The updated version of Agneepath is due to grace Bollywood screens January 26th this time with Hrithik Roshan taking on Amitabh Bachchan’s award winning role. Karan Johar is the producer of the newer film whose original was produced by Johar’s father, Yash. Although it does look promising and critics have positive expectations for it, the general question must be asked. Should Bollywood keep on updating all the classic films?
Updates of Don, Umrao Jaan, Sholay and many more have graced film screens and evidently some have been more successful than others. Fans were left incredibly disappointed by the disastrous remake of Sholay , re-titled as Aag. Even though it still starred Amitabh Bachchan, the film was rejected by most of its audiences and its director and producers were slated for attempting to rework a classic. It then went on to be that Amitabh Bachchan himself expressed regret in taking part in the project.
Fans were also left disappointed by the remake of Rekha classic Umrao Jaan this time with Aishwarya Rai and Abishek Bachchan. Panned by critics, the film was widely criticised. Critics expressed concerns about it being three hours long and many seemed unimpressed by Rai’s portrayal of the legendary character.
Where some have failed, others have succeeded. Farhan Akhtar’s updated version of Don released in 2006 with superstar Shah Rukh Khan was very well received by fans. Many enjoyed the slightly more complex storylines, as well as the modernised characters and newer settings. The soundtrack had done extremely well and many directors approved of it upon its release, as it was successfully distinct from its original. After the success of the first instalment, Akhtar then went on to make a sequel released December 2011, again well received even though it was a continuation from the first film.
Another upcoming example is Agneepath. Mentioned earlier it was a classic Amitabh Bachchan film that won him an award for best actor and will this time star Hrithik Roshan in his place. Many fans have expressed interest in the film after its soundtrack and trailer got released. The modernised update will see Sanjay Dutt sporting a new look as the villain and Priyanka Chopra as the love interest. Fans and critics have said that the film looks promising and looks to be a good update of the classic 1990 film. Upon release we will be able to see how well the update does at Box office.
Returning to the main question, it seems very difficult to come up with a straight answer. Is it really worth remaking Bollywood classics in this new era of Hindi cinema? Looking at examples and what professionals have said shows that it is a difficult question to answer, in which case you can say yes, and no.
