Karan Johar to remake Malayalam film ‘Hridayam’
Premium- It is getting tougher to acquire rights of south Indian hits because the filmmakers often want to cross over and make the Hindi version themselves
NEW DELHI: Karan Johar and Fox Star Studios have bought the rights to Malayalam film Hridayam that had released in cinemas in January. It starred Pranav Mohanlal, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Darshana Rajendran in the lead. This is Johar’s second Hindi adaptation of a Malayalam film in recent times after Selfiee, a remake of Malayalam hit Driving License that he announced a few months ago, which will feature Akshay Kumar, Emraan Hashmi, Diana Penty and Nushrratt Bharuccha in the lead.
The Hindi film industry, which has started focusing on narratives targeting multiplex audiences, is lining up remakes of mass-market south Indian movies to bring crowds back to theatres. Banijay Asia-owned production house EndemolShine India has acquired the rights to two Tamil hits, Vijay-starrer Master and romantic fantasy film Oh My Kadavule. Meanwhile, Rajkummar Rao will feature in the Hindi remake of Telugu cop thriller HIT while Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan will be seen in a remake of Tamil hit Vikram Vedha.
Filmmakers and industry experts said there is an appeal in multiple language remakes of these small, content-driven films even in this age of video streaming platforms where the original film is available with subtitles for audiences.
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They said the rights to remake a fresh box office success can come for ₹4-5 crore, bought either through a premium or by taking the original producer on board as a partner. However, it is getting tougher to acquire rights of south Indian hits because the filmmakers often want to cross over and make the Hindi version themselves. For instance, Kabir Singh was made by Arjun Reddy director Sandeep Reddy Vanga. Shahid Kapoor’s next—a Telugu sports drama titled Jersey—is being helmed by Gowtham Tinnanauri, who directed the original version.
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