BOLLYWOOD IN RELOAD MODE
With several sequels, remakes and adaptations of bestsellers lined up, we explore if the tried and tested path guarantees success
Come 2017, and Varun Dhawan will start work on the sequel to his father, David Dhawan’s 1997 hit, Judwaa. Saif Ali Khan will star in the Hindi remake of 2014 Hollywood hit, Chef, whereas Sidharth Malhotra will reprise the late Rajesh Khanna’s part from Ittefaq (1969). Aditya Roy Kapur has been signed for the Hindi remake of Mani Ratnam’s 2015 Tamil hit, O Kadhal Kanmani. And talks are rife that Tiger Shroff will do the Hindi remake of the Hollywood hit, Rambo. Remakes and sequels are the flavour next year, and actors are all for them.
However, exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi warns: “With a past hit, makers get a gripping storyline and recall value, but audiences’ taste changes every few months. So, the idea must be to adapt and contemporarise the story to appeal to today’s audiences.”
Also in the pipeline is the film adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s 2014 bestseller, Half Girlfriend, starring Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor.
Do the expectations become too much to handle for actors and filmmakers? David says: “In the initial few days, I was scared that ‘yeh kya panga le liya maine’ but now, as the script works out, I’m confident. The idea is to give the audiences an equally funny, entertaining film.” Varun is ready for comparisons with Salman Khan (who acted in Judwaa). “I can’t be compared to a superstar... But it was Salman bhai who laughed, and told me, ‘You better act properly because they will compare you to me’,” says Varun. Ask Sidharth, and he’s up for the challenge. “The benchmark for me has already been set as superstar Rajesh Khanna was a part of the film back then. I have to match up to his acting abilities.” Arjun, who has just wrapped up work on Half Girlfriend adaptation, adds that “no actor should have a comfort zone”.
Old hits from Hollywood and Bollywood such as Himmatwala, Chashme Buddoor, Zanjeer, Khubsoorat, Don, Agneepath, Knight and Day, Stepmom and The Italian Job have been remade or adapted in Hindi, but mostly received a lukewarm response at the box office. “Ultimately, everything boils down to the quality,” says Rathi.
It all depends on how well a film has been made and how brilliantly it has been adapted AKSHAYE RATHI, EXHIBITOR-DISTRIBUTOR