Superstar Amitabh Bachchan who is an active social media user took to Twitter recently to talk about his 1999 drama Sooryavansham. The film that repeatedly grabbed primetime slot on leading television channel, was first made in Tamil. It was then remade in Telugu and in Hindi. It marked the directorial debut of late EVV Satyanarayana in Bollywood. Big B tweeted, “SOORYAVANSHAM...16 years... many still watch this film repeatedly...it has a personal connect with many.”
On this note, City Express takes a look at some of our own South films which turned out to be super hits in Bollywood.
Ghajini
The movie starring Suriya and directed by AR Murugadoss released in the year 2008. Inspired by Christopher Nolan’s Memento, this film came as a breath of fresh air in terms of story, direction and execution. It was later remade into Hindi with the same name starring Aamir Khan in the lead role. Asin was cast opposite both Aamir and Suriya and it also marked her Bollywood debut.
Chanti
This 1992 Telugu film was first made in Tamil. Starring Daggubati Venkatesh and Meena in lead roles, the Hindi version of the film was called Anari. This film too had Venkatesh in the lead role, and the lead actress was Karisma Kapoor. Both the films fared well at the box office. Music of the film, composed by Ilayaraja was highly lauded.
Hello Brother
This was touted as a blockbuster comedy film released in the year 1994. The film starred Akkineni Nagarjuna in a double role, Ramya Krishnan and late Soundarya. The film was remade as Judwaa in the year 1997 by David Dhawan. Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Rambha played the lead roles.
The film was appreciated for its comedy timing both in Tollywood and Bollywood.
Pokiri
This 2006 movie starring Mahesh Babu and Ileana D’Cruz was remade as Wanted in Bollywood. Directed by Prabhu Deva, “Wanted” released in the year 2009. While Pokiri was a blockbuster, Wanted emerged as the second highest grosser that year. Mahesh Babu’s dialogue, “Oka sari commit aite, na maate nene vinanu” became quite popular. The Hindi version of the dialogue was also received well. The dialogue also has a Facebook page – Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di, fir main apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta.
Vikramarkudu
This Telugu action thriller, starring Ravi Teja and Anushka Shetty was directed by SS Rajamouli. Ravi Teja played a double role. It was remade as Rowdy Rathore in Hindi in 2012. Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha played the lead roles in it Hindi version. This remake too was directed by Prabhu Deva.
Both the film made good record at the box office. The film’s music was the most appreciated for its catchy tunes.