Even as many of our heroes, from Kamal Haasan to Dhanush, are waving the remake wand with tested and successful scripts from other states, Kollywood is found to be in large supply of interesting scripts. In fact, one such a film, Yaavarum Nalam, has struck gold and is even being made into an English film now.
Ghajini ’s success in 2008 as the year’s biggest grosser has forced the spotlight on Tamil films and Tamil filmmakers, whose scripts are wooing even Bollywood and Bengal.
South Indian films (Tamil particularly), have been remade in Hindi since the time of LV Prasad. But the traditional viewpoint was that such remakes aren’t viable, as many such films sank without a trace. Yet, today, over a dozen films’ remake rights have been bought by Bollywood filmmakers from Kollywood, perhaps, propelled by the success that Aamir starrer Ghajini , a Tamil script originally, fetched them.
Following Aamir were both Akshay Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan, who opted for South Indian remakes with Kambaqqt Ishq (a remake of Kamal Haasan’s Pammal K Sambhandam ) and Billu (remake of Kadha Parayumbol ).
Today, there is an increasing number of Tamil films that are being remade (or inspired: a term strictly used when rights haven’t been procured) in not just Hindi, but Kannada and Bengali as well. With a lot of Tamil actors holding considerable fan following in Andhra, many Tamil movies get dubbed and released in Telugu, instead of going in for a remake.
And many South Indian filmmakers, inspired by AR Murugadoss who directed Ghajini with no knowledge of Hindi, have been trying their luck to get that big Bollywood break.
Abhiyum Nannum:
Produced by Duet Films, the film’s rights are said to have been purchased by Boney Kapoor, whose Narsimha Enterprises has already acquired the rights for the remake of Mozhi .
Both films have been directed by Radhamohan, who is expected to direct the films in Hindi as well. Abhiyum Naanum , starring Trisha and Prakash Raj, is based on the relationship between a father and his daughter.
Yaavarum Nallam:
This hasn’t happened in a while. The rights for this Tamil film (which was later turned to a bilingual) have been procured for an English remake.
The rights have been procured by Weinstein Company, which has produced films like Rambo and The Nutty Professor .
Yaavarum Nalam has Madhavan and Neetu Chandra in the lead, and is a supernatural thriller.
June R :
This film, directed by Revathy Verma, never made it big in the box office in Tamil, despite having one of our more popular heroines Jyothika play the protagonist. The film is currently being remade in Hindi as Fir Tum Mil Gaye , with Jaya Bachchan playing Saritha’s role of the adopted mother. The remake also has Madhavan playing an important role.
Bose :
Starring Srikanth and Sneha, the movie is the relationship between a dancer and an army officer.
The film, which wasn’t a big hit here, has been remade as Yodha in Kannada. Yodha , which hit screens only last month, opened well, with Darshan and Nikitha in the lead.
Nadodigal:
Directed by Samudhrakani, Nadodigal is about a gang of four friends whose lives meet unexpected complications when they choose to held another friend for his love.
The film, being produced by a Mumbai-based production house Global Infotainment, will be remade soon by its original director and writer, Samudhrakani. Shahid Kapoor and Slumdog Millionaire fame Dev Patil have been approached to play the lead roles in the film.
shardha@epmltd.com