Culture & Living
5 upcoming Bollywood movies that are being adapted from Hollywood and foreign language films
Bollywood filmmakers are now seeking permissions and buying rights to make official adaptations of the films that took over box offices around the world. Here are the ones you need to keep an eye out for
Most of us have watched at least one Bollywood film where the plot line was similar to that of another classic Hollywood feature. In some cases, you may have even witnessed scenes that were completely lifted from other films, without any credit given to the original. Creative work, filmmaking included, does require the creators to look at the past for inspiration, but there needs to be a line between that and plagiarism. The solution? Bollywood filmmakers have recently taken to creating official adaptations of international films. Case in point, Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu’s 2019 feature, Badla was based on the 2016 Spanish thriller, The Invisible Guest.
Considering the growing popularity of Bollywood adaptations, among filmmakers and audiences alike, it’s no surprise that the next couple of years will see many more debuting on the silver screen. Here, we take a look at the most exciting titles in the pipeline.
Laal Singh Chaddha (2020)
On his 54th birthday last year, Aamir Khan announced that he will be starring in the official Hindi remake of the 1994 cult classic, Forrest Gump. Based on a 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the original Hollywood film saw Tom Hanks playing the lead role of a man with learning disability, who goes from one memorable experience to another in the panorama of American history. The movie won six Academy Awards in 1995, including Best Actor, so it’s clear that Khan has some big boots to fill.
Dil Bechara (2020)
John Green’s much-loved 2012 novel, The Fault in Our Stars, became even more popular once its Hollywood adaptation released in 2014, with Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort playing the lead roles of two cancer patients who fall in love. The response this adaptation got was so immense, that it was only a matter of time before Bollywood decided to release its own version as well. In October 2017, an announcement revealed that the Hindi remake of the movie was in the works, and would be called Kizzie aur Manny. Several delays and a title change later, the film is now set to be released in May this year, under the tittle, Dil Bechara, with Sushant Singh Rajput and debutante Sanjana Sanghi in leading roles, and AR Rahman composing the music.
The Girl on the Train (2020)
Released in 2016, the movie based Paula Hawkin’s 2015 book, The Girl on the Train, received mixed reviews, but Emily Blunt’s stupendous performance as an alcoholic divorcee who gets embroiled in a missing person’s investigation has stayed with the audience. The book and movie now serve as inspiration for an upcoming Hindi feature, and will see Parineeti Chopra stepping into Emily’s shoes. Chopra admitted that this is the most difficult role she has played till date in an earlier interview. Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, the film, which will release on the silver screen in May 2020, also stars Aditi Rao Hydari and Kirti Kulhari in pivotal roles.
Rambo (2020)
True-blue fans of Sylvester Stallone’s iconic character, Rambo, are yet to recover from the shock that their favourite hero might get its Bollywood counterpart soon. Filmmaker Siddharth Anand’s decision to adapt the 1992 Hollywood action film with Tiger Shroff in the lead generated a lot of buzz when it was announced in 2017. Veteran actor Stallone even took to Twitter to wish the young Bollywood star luck for the film.
The project was put on hold since it became too big in terms of budget, and the director went on to make War (2019) with Shroff and Hrithik Roshan instead. But now, Anand is back to bring this remake to reality—reports say they will start shooting for it in March this year.
The Intern (2021)
A charming film about a retired, seventy-year-old widower, Ben Whittaker (played by Robert De Niro), who decides to get back to work and joins a fashion start-up as an intern to the CEO (played by Anne Hathaway), this 2015 American comedy made a mark for the amazing chemistry shared by the two actors. Now, the film is set get its Hindi adaptation with Deepika Padukone and Rishi Kapoor reprising the lead roles. Will they be able to recreate the chemistry that made The Intern what it was? We’ll only find out in 2021, when the movie releases on the big screen.
