Old is gold. Anyone who knows it in Bollywood never failed in trying to make use of it. For Bollywood, reboots started in form of music remixes. From “Dheere Dheere Se” to “Laila Main Laila,” the number of songs that inspired new reboots and movie titles is rather large. In recent years, Bollywood audiences have witnessed some excellent film remakes on screen. With Sidharth Malhotra and Sonakshi Sinha’s reboot of Yash Chopra’s 1969 thriller “Ittefaq” currently rocking the theatres in India, it’s time to look back at some of the remakes over the years, both acclaimed and not-so-acclaimed.
Devdas (2002) | Dev. D (2009)
Devdas, based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, is probably the most remade film in Indian cinema, having spawned 17 adaptations so far. It was made for Bollywood for the first time by PC Barua in 1936. The 2002 version, the biggest hit so far, was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. It had huge stars like Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai. As with other Bhansali films, the movie was a visual treat, the songs and dances were also huge hits. Devdas was selected as India’s entry to the Foreign Language Film category at the Academy Awards.
Another remake of Devdas, Dev D (2009) by Anurag Kashyap, was a completely different take on the classic. Recast as a dark comedy, watching the film can only be described as a hallucinatory trip. Dev D was considered a ground-breaking movie for Indian cinema.Don- The Chase Begins Again (2006)
Probably the most successful of all Bollywood classics that inspired a remake, Don (1978) is one of Amitabh Bachchan’s, and scriptwriter Salim Khan-Javed Akhtar’s most popular films and the character and its dialogues achieved iconic status. The film earned Rs7 crore in box office collections, while the remake earned Rs50 crore.
Director Farhan Akhtar and Shahrukh Khan did a great job with the remake which successfully established Shah Rukh as the Don of the new generation. Although the story remains the same, the remake looks like a Hollywood film with its sleek and polished new look and use of foreign locations. Don and its sequel in 2011 did very well at the box office.Umrao Jaan (2006)
The JP Dutta-directed film, starring Aishwarya Rai, was a remake of the 1981 Rekha movie helmed by Muzaffar Ali. The original movie, starring Rekha and Farooq Sheikh, was an average performer, but its music and performance by Rekha were the highlights of the movie.
The remake too, performed badly. Anu Malik’s music was average, Aishwarya was no match to Rekha’s luminance, Abhishek Bachchan was dull, and the movie was lengthy with a three-hour run-time.Aag (2007)
Ram Gopal Varma’s 2007 action drama ‘Aag’ is the perfect example of why people feel that filmmakers should not mess with classic films. Ramesh Sippi’s ‘Sholay’ (1975) is the biggest of them all and the most watched Indian film in the history of Indian cinema. The all-time blockbuster ran for about five years on theatrical release and grossed about Rs30 crore at that time.
On the other hand, “Aag” can probably be called one of the worst remakes of all time. The film had to change its title twice and all the characters’ names as well due to copyright issues. Varma’s film ultimately turned out to be the biggest commercial disaster of the year with a meagre Rs7 crore at the box office.Karzzzz (2008)
This 1980 movie was a phenomenal hit, for its storyline as well as its memorable soundtrack – directed by Subhash Ghai and starring Rishi Kapoor, Tina Munim and Simi Garewal. Revenge stories have always been a hit in Bollywood.
However, when the cult movie acquired a couple more z’s at the end of the title and the nasal king Himesh Reshammiya for the remake, no one had a doubt in their minds that this was a recipe for disaster. The new film managed to earn only about Rs10 crore.Agneepath (2012)
Director Karan Malhotra’s action drama was a retelling of the 1990 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer of the same name. So when the news became public that a remake is going to be made, people were wondering who could match the performance delivered by Big B. The original Agneepath is still remembered solely for Amitabh Bachchan’s acting and his dialogues, and his accent.
It became clearer after the release of the remake, only the basic premise from the original was borrowed and several new elements/characters were added to the original script. The remake developed an identity of its own. With towering performances from Rishi Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt, it went on to become a hit at the box office. The film earned Rs119 crore, while the acclaimed classic had netted Rs4.5 crore.Himmatwala (2013)
Sajid Khan’s action comedy featuring Ajay Devgan was a remake of a 1983 film starring Jeetendra and Sridevi. After the super-success of Housefull 2, Sajid Khan had proudly proclaimed that his remake of Himmatwala would bring the 80s back to Bollywood.
Obviously, nothing of the sort happened with the remake. The two popular songs from the original film, “Naino Mein Sapna” and “Taki Taki,” were recreated in the remake, and those were the only bright spots in this otherwise dull film.Chashme Baddoor (2013)
The David Dhawan comedy was a remake of the 1981 film of the same title, featuring Farooq Shaikh and Deepti Naval. Sai Paranjpye, who directed the original Chashme Baddoor, was quite upset with the fact that David Dhawan was doing a remake of her film.
The remake’s storyline was adapted to suit the present day audience but it wasn’t completely accepted by the audience. The new movie, starring Ali Zafar, Siddharth and Taapsee Pannu, made Rs42 crore, while Paranjpye’s film netted Rs1 crore at the box office.Zanjeer (2013)
Apoorva Lakhia directed the Hindi-Telugu bilingual starring Ram Charan, a remake of the 1973 Amitabh Bachchan hit. The original Zanjeer was responsible for putting Amitabh Bachchan on the path towards super-stardom.
However, the remake, directed by Apoorva Lakhia and starring Tollywood actor Ram Charan in his Bollywood debut, could not strike a chord with the audience. The remake was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu. Neither version did very well at the box office.Judwaa 2 (2017)
Judwaa 2 is a remake of Judwaa, released in 1997 directed by David Dhawan, starring Salman Khan in a double role opposite Karisma Kapoor and Rambha. The film was successful at the box office.
The film is a remake of the 1994 Telugu movie Hello Brother, which was unofficial remake of Twin Dragons starring Jackie Chan. This year the same director brought Judwaa 2 with Varun Dhawan, Taapsee Pannu and Jacqueline Fernandez. The movie did well in the box office and Varun did a praiseworthy job with both the character of Prem and Raza.
