The movie industry of both Bollywood and Hollywood has copied from one another for decades, in some cases officially, in some cases less so. In the past, several Hindi movies have been created straight from Hollywood, either as a party to a license deal or loosely adapted, or lovingly made with a desi twist. Some captured their originals, others did not, but they all have a strong Hollywood mark. Here are 10 Bollywood films with undeniable Hollywood connection and the films they were inspired from.
Bang Bang (Knight and Day)
Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif’s action thriller was an official remake of the Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz film Knight and Day. It certainly wasn’t quite as light as the original but it did prove to be one of the most lucrative Bollywood films on the year on merit of its leads’ chemistry.
Dil Bechara (The Fault in Our Stars)
Sushant Singh Rajput’s final film was a Hindi adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars, based on John Green’s novel. Produced by Fox Star Studios, it was casting director Mukesh Chhabra’s directorial debut and had added emotional weight due to its release circumstances.
Chachi 420 (Mrs. Doubtfire)
Kamal Haasan’s beloved comedy reworked the Robin Williams classic Mrs. Doubtfire, following a divorced man who disguises himself as an elderly female housekeeper to stay close to his child. It’s become a cult favorite in its own right, remembered as one of Bollywood’s sharper comedy adaptations of a Hollywood hit.
Partner (Hitch)
The premise for Salman Khan / Govinda’s buddy comedy Partner was borrowed outright from the Will Smith film Hitch which was based on a professional ‘date doctor’ trying to make a clueless client fall in love with his dream girl. The film played off the comic timing of its lead actors and turned out to be a film box office success.
Players (The Italian Job)
This Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor heist comedy was an official remake of The Italian Job, featuring crazy gold heists and an array of Mini Coopers. It has been referred as an example of how remaking a Hollywood hit does not always lead to a Bollywood hit, as this one did not have much of an impact.
Ghajini (Memento)
The main gimmick of Aamir Khan’s blockbuster was the theme of the central character being a man with short-term memory loss who is on a mission to catch the people who wronged him, which was picked up from Christopher Nolan’s Memento. It was remade into a mass-market revenge film in Hindi cinema by Bollywood and subsequently became a landmark commercial film.
Dhoom 3 (The Prestige)
The third part of the Dhoom series was inspired by The Prestige, especially the part in which the twin brothers act as circus performers. It’s a film that was built around a mysterious that was clearly inspired, with Aamir Khan’s dual role taking center stage to anchor the film and make it one of the biggest Indian films of the era.
Kaante (Reservoir Dogs)
The ensemble crime thriller which starred Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt etc., was very reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. It reimagines the awkward heist-mishap concept for an Indian audience, and is one of Bollywood’s more polished crime films.
Sangharsh (The Silence of the Lambs)
This 1999 psychological thriller, which starred Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta, was clearly inspired by The Silence of the Lambs, and its plot could be no more simple than a young officer going to an imprisoned criminal to elicit the assistance of a killer. It was an outlier in the genre thanks to Ashutosh Rana’s chilling performance as a villain.
We Are Family (Stepmom)
It was with We Are Family, an official Bollywood remake of the Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon film Stepmom, that Dharma Productions began Bollywood’s trend of official remakes. It was a romantic drama featuring Kajol and Kareena Kapoor that brought the tale of how a mother and stepmother can get along with each other to the Hindi crowd with the rights duly secured.
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