Presently Bollywood is going through a bad phase as most of the films with big stars are flopping miserably. The main blame for the same is the lack of originality in the subject. It has so happened that during the Covid pandemic the taste of the audience has changed because they got used to watching content on the OTT platforms which generally gave them some original story ideas and good content in other language films and serials. So after the pandemic when the films started releasing in the theatres, the audience started rejecting the films which had very poor content despite top stars acting in them.
Secondly, Bollywood is often blamed for recreating films from the South. At times, Bollywood filmmakers are not imaginative, they transform decent story plots into poor films and steal stories from other language films. However, in the past, South Indian filmmakers have also remade Bollywood films. Here is the list of top ten South Indian remakes of Bollywood films over the last decade and a half.
1 3 Idiots remade as Nanban in Tamil
2009 release 3 idiots was held up as the benchmark for a successful Bollywood film. There were some issues with the film but despite this, the film turns out to be very funny with brilliant actors and dialogue. And its remake in Tamil did full justice to the original film.
2 Jolly LLB remade as Manithan in Tamil
For obvious reasons, Jolly LLB was one of the low-budget films, which did very well at the box office. The film has it all; excellent acting, a fantastic storyline, and a compelling narrative. Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani’s performances deserve a lot of praise. The Tamil remake was also very well made.
3 Delhi Belly remade as Settai in Tamil
Delhi Belly was a fun film that has a good narrative and storyline and considering that it was made on a limited budget, it performed admirably, particularly when no A-listed actors were in the film. The remake had the same impact on the audience as the original film did.
4 Pyar Ka Punchnama remade as Green Signal in Telugu
Despite the fact Pyar Ka Punchnama was a controversial and misogynist film, many people enjoyed it. The Telugu remake failed miserably in an attempt to represent the film as it was.
5 A Wednesday remade as Unnaipol Oruvan in Tamil and Eenadu in Telugu
A Wednesday is one film that has been remade in both Tamil and Telugu. And this film is deserving of it as well. This film sends a strong message about terrorism, and how the common man is affected by it.
6 Kahani remade as Anamika in Telugu
Kahani was a good film that did average business at the box office when released, but it is a huge hit on OTT and Television, demonstrating how genius the story premise was and how strong Vidya Balan’s performance was. The Telugu film set in Hyderabad incorporates the cultural complexities that the state capital has to bring.
7 Pink remade as Nerkonda Paarvi in Tamil
It is without a doubt one of the best Bollywood films of the last 10 years, its message of NO MEANS NO was liked by all. It features good acting and depicts the harsh reality of women in society. The story was simply incredible. In the Tamil remake, Ajith replaced Amitabh Bachchan.
8 Khosla Ka Ghosla remade as Poi Solla Porom in Tamil
The film Khosla Ka Ghosla is absolutely outstanding. It has a good sense of humour while posing many challenges that a common faces in his life. The remake was as good as the original.
9 Dabangg remade as Gabbar Singh in Telugu
Dabangg is a film that had a significant impact on Sonakshi Sinha’s career and was also very successful. However, if Salman can reinvent South Indian films, so can South Indian filmmakers. Pawan Kalyan and Shruti Hasan played the lead roles in the remake.
10 Jab We Met remade as Kanden Kadhalai in Tamil
The film was entertaining, with twists and turns, and mixed emotions. Bharath and Tamannah Bhatia starred in the remake of this film in Tamil. The South remake has the same effect on the viewers as the original film.
There are many earlier Bollywood films that were remade into South language films. It has so happened that presently mediocrity has set in the Bollywood filmmakers, while South Indian films are faring much better content-wise.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
9th September 2022