Not so long ago many Bollywood filmmakers took a dig at south cinema, especially Tamil and Telugu cinema for its non reality quotient. And now what seems to be a regular happening, it is those films from south, which are ruling in Bollywood right now.
It all began in a sense with not a complete remake of Telugu hit ‘Pellam Oorelithe’ [If wife goes to village] as ‘No Entry’ [2005] in Bollywood. No entry proved to be a money spinner at BO and what followed was a curiosity among many Bollywood producers to look down at south cinema for a possible remake.
Before ‘Wanted’ [2009] released Salman Khan’s career in Bollywood was almost written off. But after the film got released silently with out great expectations, Salman proved to the trade sources that he still has the charisma that can catapult him to the big league. Wanted turned out to be the biggest hit of 2009. It was a remake of Telugu super hit ‘Pokiri’.
So what happened after ‘Wanted’ is known to everybody. Salman had his one eye on southern cinema and was keen on remaking things which will make audience root back to the days when Amitabh ruled Bollywood. On one hand he made the tried and tested formula of Indian cinema, masala films, and the genre proved to be lucky for the hero as his ‘Dabangg’ broke all previous BO records and did managed to make one thing certain, that is audience’s love towards masala cinema has not lasted.
On the other hand he is also trying to break shackles by playing a character inspired from real life in ‘Ek Tha Tiger’.
Keeping his Dabangg success in mind and wanted to play safe when it comes to his next venture Salman looked back down south to support him once again. And what prevailed was he liking the comedy and masala genre Telugu film, ‘Ready’, which he remade in Bollywood with the same name and is set to release on June 3rd.
Following the routes of Salman are other eminent actors from the industry like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and John Abraham. While Akshay is set to star in a remake of Telugu hit Vikramarkudu [2006], Ajay has already finished major chunk of Singham, a remake of Tamil film with the same name. Devgn also possesses rights of Maryada Ramanna, a Telugu hit of 2010. John has completed major part of ‘Force’, which is set to release in August. It is a remake of Tamil hit, Kaakha Kaakha [2003].
Why are big guns gunning for south cinema?
The answer is simple; the tried and tested formula is getting back to its vigor once again. Off late Bollywood has completely changed in terms of films that were made, so in a sense to give relief to audiences some stars are balancing the act with masala films part from doing sensible cinema, Aamir Khan [Ghajini followed by 3 idiots and Dhobi Ghat] and Ajay Devgn [Once Upon A Time in Mumbai followed by Singham] can be taken as clear examples.
On the other hand Salman is very comfortable in disassociating himself from realistic cinema as he time and again clarified that people who come to theaters should enjoy a film rather than thinking about it. Salman’s upcoming films like ‘Bodyguard’ and ‘Kick’ are remakes from Malayalam and Telugu industry.
Sources figure out that the actor is also in plans to remake two other Telugu films of actor Ravi Teja, ‘Don Seenu’ [2010] and 2011 hit ‘Mirapakay’ [Chilly]. But as Khan’s schedule is packed with films this year one should wait till an official conformation comes from him.
Apart from complete masala flicks, south lately is also associated with realistic cinema. Well, this realistic cinema is also taken into consideration by Bollywood makers as film such as Kaadhal aka Love [2005 Tamil hit] and Traffic [2011 Malayalam hit] will also be made in Bollywood.
Will this end?
No it won’t for sure. If a certain Bollywood maker is stealing scripts and shots from Hollywood flicks, it’s better to remake a south cinema, part of Indian film industry, by acquiring rights. Similarly it’s not a one way process in Bollywood as many of Bollywood films too are remade down south. ‘Munnabhai’ series was remade in Telugu and Tamil with superstars like Chiranjeevi and Kamal Haasan.
At the same time Haasan did remade, ‘A Wednesday’ in Tamil and Telugu. Other films such as Jab We Met, Love Aaj Kal were remade in Tamil and Telugu industry’s respectively. Dabangg’s Tamil version had it’s muhurat recently whereas the Telugu version titled as ‘Gabbar Singh’ with Pawan Kalyan in the lead will move on floors pretty soon. ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaayaa’ [Will you cross the skies and come], a Tamil and Telugu hit [Titled Ye Maya Chesave in Telugu] of 2010 is in the process of being made in Hindi with Prateik Babbar in the lead.
So on the whole Indian film industry comprises of films that are made down south too and one can hardly ignore them as the maaza lies in there if you had a bad day at the office. The dishum dishums, loud music’s and songs picturised in foreign locales, which are rarity in Bollywood now a days can be easily compensated because one really won’t forget his roots, will he?
As long as a remake hits the bull’s eye in the language that it was made, there won’t be any issues for sure.
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