Bollywood, which makes Hindi films, often turns to other film industries across India – especially from the southern states – to remake its biggest hits. But how will the rise of streaming services and the emergence of “pan-India” blockbusters affect this?
The latest Bollywood remake of a southern hit – Vikram Vedha, directed by a Tamil-language native – was released in theaters in September to good reviews. It is also one of the few Bollywood films to have grossed more than a billion rupees ($12.1m; £10.7m) worldwide this year (although reports say the film is yet to reach that number in India). struggling).
But around the release of Vikramvedha, some corners of the internet also started furiously debating Bollywood’s apparent inability to come up with new ideas and its over-reliance on the South for scripts.
The trend of dusting off, recasting and copying hits for new audiences is common in film industries across the globe. Four of the 10 best picture nominees at the Oscars this year were remakes or reboots of earlier films – the eventual winner, Coda, was adapted from a 2014 French film.
Bollywood also loves remakes. Between 2000 and 2019, one out of every three hit movies was either a remake, part of a series, or both, according to a Minute newspaper analysis of the show. And big Bollywood heroes, from Salman Khan to Akshay Kumar, have starred in hit remakes of southern films.
But as the industry suffers a post-pandemic decline, industry watchers say the clock is ticking for the remake trend. The pandemic saw a surge in subscriptions to streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, opening up the world of non-Hindi films to those looking to explore content in other languages.
