In today’s weekend blog, I am back on films. Bollywood is often blamed for ‘blatantly’ copying from Hollywood, we have often seen Bollywood filmmakers picking a Hollywood movie and either giving it an Indian touch or presenting it as a remake. But, where do Hollywood filmmakers get ideas from their movies? Turns out, sometimes the answer is Bollywood. There have been occasions where things happened the other way around with Hollywood filmmakers taking inspiration from their Bollywood counterparts. Here are some of those movies for you:
1 Just Go With It (Hollywood-H)- Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya (Bollywood-B)- Adam Sandler plays a successful plastic surgeon in this 2011 film, who flirts with women by lying about his unhappy marriage. But, when he falls for a woman, he tells her he is getting divorced and convinces his assistant Jennifer Aniston, to pretend to be his soon-to-be ex-wife to cover up for his lie. He ropes in Jennifer’s kids as well to play along and pretend to be his kids, and together the four of them start spinning the web of lies, until they realize true feelings for each other. Sound familiar? Well, that’s because Salman Khan and Sushmita Khan did something similar in 2005 in David Dhawan’s Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya ?
2 Fear (H)– Darr (B)
Darr (1993) is one of the cult movies in Bollywood and people can never forget Shah Rukh Khan’s crazy stalker avatar. Shah Rukh Khan is so obsessed with Juhi Chawla in the film that he even carves her name ‘Kiran’ on his chest. Three years later, Mark Wahlberg, did something similar (actually same) when he carved the name ‘Nicole’ on his chest, in James Foley’s Fear. In fact even the film’s title happens to be a literal translation of Bollywood movie. There are certain differences in the Hollywood version though, like Mark Wahlberg got to date Reese Witherspoon in the film, but Shah Rukh Khan didn’t get a chance with Juhi Chawla.
3 Delivery Man (H) – Vicky Donor (B)
Ayushmann Khurrana’s 2012 movie Vicky Donor, touched base with a topic that no one wants to discuss openly-infertility and sperm donation. That romantic comedy not only went on to become one of the biggest hits, but also apparently inspired the 2013 Hollywood film Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, and Cobie Smulders.
4 Leap Year (H) – Jab We Met (B)
Although the narrative of both the films are different, the premise of the movie happens to be the same; with the one starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode sharing many similarities with Imtiaz Ali’s version featuring Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor. Leap Year is the story of a woman who wants to propose to her boyfriend. However, it does not seem to be easy as it sounds because on her way, she faces multiple challenges, one of them being catching a feeling for a guy she befriended on her journey, who is taking her to meet her boyfriend.
5 A Common Man (H) – A Wednesday (B)
Neeraj Pandey’s 2008 film A Wednesday starring Anupam Kher and Nasseruddin Shah is one of the greatest movies made in the thriller genre. The mind-boggling climax made this a sleeper hit that went on to win various accolades and awards. So, it only makes sense for other directors to take an interest in this classic film and give their own spin to storyline. In 2013, A Common Man was released, which is said to remake of the film, where Ben Kingsley stepped into the shoes of Nasseruddin Shah to play the Man who plants bombs across Colombo and threatens to detonate them if four prisoners are not released.
6 Hitch (H) – Choti Si Baat (B)
David Dhawan’s 2007 film Partner is often criticized for Copying Will Smith’s romantic comedy Hitch. However, turns out Will Smith’s movie was not a original concept either. In fact, many believe that it shares a lot of similarities with the 1976 Bollywood movie Choti Si Baat starring Amol Palekar, Vidya Sinha, and Ashok Kumar. The film revolves around a shy man, who is in love with a woman, but doesn’t know how to express his feelings except for watching her from a distance. He seeks help from a guy, who’s made it his life’s mission to help people stuck in love and together they transform him from a guy who’s shy to someone filled with style and swagger.
7 Pearl Harbor (H) – Sangam (B)
The 2001 Hollywood romantic war film featuring Ben Afleck, Kate Backinsale and Josh Harnett in leading roles shares great similarities with the 1964 Bollywood classic Sangam starring Raj Kapoor, Vyjayantimala and Rajendra Kumar. Both the films are around two best friends, who fall for the same woman, with one of them making the ultimate sacrifice for the happiness of the other two. While in Hollywood version both the friends are combat pilots, in the Bollywood version only one of them is a pilot in the Indian Air Force, and the other one is a Lawyer.
Waiting for your views on this blog.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
1st December 2023