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Two remakes of two huge hits - both coincidentally from the
1970s - are released in one week to great expectations... but sink
without a trace. So, the question arises - do we really need
remakes? The most memorable remake fiasco was by none other than
mighty Ram Gopal Varma. His "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag", made with an
obscenely high budget and big stars, is a re-styled and re-modelled
version of Ramesh Sippy's 1975 cult film "Sholay". But it sank at
the box office without a trace.
The same week, another remake, "Victoria No 203" of the 1972
film of the same name, had a similar fate. Most halls running these
films were going empty on the very first day.
There are two types of filmmakers crowding Bollywood - one the
ambitious and experimental types who have succeeded in luring
Hollywood to be a partner in their creative journey, and others who
are traditional craftsman besotted with formula films and are
making futile attempts at glory by reproducing old classics.
Going by the fate of "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag" and "Victoria No.
203", it seems the good intention of filmmakers in reviving old
memories is not quite working out. A case of expectations gone
awry?
"We don't need remakes. If we want to see some old classics, we
can watch them on CDs and DVDs as they are easily available in the
market. The multiplex tickets burn a hole in our pockets. Going for
'Aag' was absolutely a waste of money. I'm really angry with the
director for making such a bad film and hyping it," said Gayatri
Gosain, a student who regretted buying tickets for Varma's "Aag".
"The film is too gimmicky to be effective. 'Sholay' had worked
because of its dramatic sweep and narrative simplicity. RGV's
style in 'Aag' is too self-conscious, as if he is out to prove a
point. That makes the film come across as rather laboured," said
Saibal Chatterjee, editor of Indian Express Sunday Supplement.
If viewing such poorly made films pinches a viewer's pockets, it
is an expensive business for filmmakers too.
While "Aag" was made at a mammoth budget of Rs.300 million, J.P.
Dutta invested about Rs.200 million in his remake of the 1981
classic "Umrao Jaan". Despite the presence of Aishwarya Rai and
Abhishek Bachchan, Dutta's interpretation of Mirza Hadi Ruswa's
novel went awry. The film's failure meant financial loss to
investors as well as distributors.
Shah Rukh Khan's starrer "Don", a remake of Chandra Barot's hit
1978 action thriller which had Amitabh in the lead, was made at a
cost of Rs.350 million. It did comparatively reasonable business at
first but couldn't keep the cash registers ringing for long.
"I think it's not a good idea to go for remakes. Personally, I
don't believe in remakes. I feel that it is difficult to create
the same magic. Because when a film is made, so many people are
involved and it is difficult to get that kind of mind work," said
Indra Kumar, whose "Dhamaal" releases this week.
"Except for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Devdas', all the remakes
have met with criticism. There is a reason behind the success of
Bhansali's 'Devdas' - most people had forgotten the earlier
'Devdas', otherwise it would have also been compared and
condemned," added Kumar.
Many are disappointed with Varma's "Aag" and oppose the idea of
remakes unless it is worth making.
"Remakes are alright as long as the film being remade is not as big
as 'Sholay', which still lives in our collective memory. It
doesn't need to be updated. Remaking a film like 'Don', for
instance, is fine because for one, it wasn't a perfect film, and
two, it had begun to drop out of public memory except for the
songs," added Chatterjee.
Ashima, of Ashima-Leena designer duo, told IANS: "If directors
don't use the same storyline and if the content is completely
different from the original, then they should make a new movie,
instead of calling it a remake. There is no comparison between
'Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag' and 'Sholay'. Remaking such a cult
film lowers its market value."
That's exactly what David Dhawan did when he churned out hits like
"Aankhen" and "Hero No. 1". Though the two films were inspired by
old classics, "Do Phool" and "Bawarchi", respectively, the director
presented them as fresh movies. Both the films turned out to be
gold spinners for the director.
Dharmesh Darshan's triangular love story "Bewafaa" too was
inspired by B.R. Chopra's "Gumraah". The film didn't go very far
in terms of box office success but the director never called it a
remake, which actually kept the dignity of the original film
intact.
This was not the first time Darshan was taking inspiration from an
old classic. His successful film "Raja Hindustani" was a remake of
"Jab Jab Phool Khile".
And the list of movies that have been remade without acknowledging
the original doesn't end here. There are more.
Pankaj Parashar's romantic comedy "Chalbaaz", starring Sridevi in
a double role, was inspired by Ramesh Sippy's blockbuster "Sita
Aur Geeta". Ravi Tandon's "Khel Khel Mein" inspired
Abbas-Mustan's action-thriller "Khiladi".
Sooraj Barjatya struck gold at the box office with "Hum Aapke Hai
Kaun", a remake of Rajshri's earlier Bhojpuri drama "Nadiya Ke
Paar". But Barjatya was not so lucky when he attempted a remake of
his banner's "Chitchor" titled "Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon". It
bombed.
The same happened to Ahmed Siddiqui's mythological drama "Jai
Santoshi Maa", a remake of the 1975 hit mythological film of the
same name. It also wilted.
In recent times only the remakes of "Devdas" and "Parineeta" have
enjoyed a good run at the box office.
By Arpana
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