Why Hindi film industry is faring so miserably at Box Office

Modern-day filmmakers must end their long-lasting love affair with remakes. The reality, however, is that the coming months will witness the release of many Hindi versions of films made in other languages that have been commercially and critically successful.

The remake factory has endured quite a few body blows in recent times. Pushkar- Gayathri’s Tamil action thriller Vikram Vedha’s Hindi version of the same name had Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan at the centre. The film was a significant big-ticket failure. Hrithik’s interpretation of the gangster Vedha made deliciously memorable by Vijay Sethupati in the original version showed that the Bollywood superstar was willing to take a risk and give a new identity to the character. It worked — mostly.

Saif as the cop Vikram stepped into R Madhavan’s shoes and performed remarkably. But the two major Hindi film stars, despite being perfectly cast by the filmmaking duo who had also directed the Tamil version, could not woo the audiences. An unrealistically high budget, reported to be in the range of Rs 175 crore, also contributed to the film’s inability to recover its investment – and earn a little bit more.

Gowtam Tinnamuri’s sports drama Jersey starring Shahid Kapoor and Mrunal Thakur was an emotionally powerful remake of the Telugu film of the same title. Also helmed by Tinnamuri, the remake’s pace and story failed to keep the viewer engaged, proving that making it for the Hindi film audiences was a mistake. Moreover, it meekly surrendered to the popular appeal of Prashanth Neel’s Kannada action film KGF: Chapter 2, whose Hindi version ruled the box office during the same period.

One reason that makes remakes vulnerable to failures is the feedback that the original film is better. Second, films need to be made with smaller budgets to make the recovery of costs easier. Also, critics often ask why so many Hindi remakes must be made. That is not an inappropriate question.

An example of an inferior remake is Ranjit M Tewari’s Cuttputlii starring Akshay Kumar, which is a crime thriller about an investigation into serial killings. A remake of the Ram Kumar-helmed Tamil film Ratsasan, Cuttputlii was nowhere near as engaging as the original.

Advait Chandan’s Lal Singh Chaddha, an official remake of Robert Zemeckis’s Forrest Gump, suffered by comparison with the original. Aamir Khan’s performance as the protagonist lacked novelty, which didn’t help either. Moreover, a social media campaign against Khan because of his 2014 remark on growing intolerance in India and moments from Rajkumar Hirani’s PK starring the actor that was seen as mocking Hinduism also hurt the film’s prospects.

Despite financial setbacks and criticisms, many remakes will hit the marquee in the coming months.

Among them is Mili, Mathukutty Xavier’s remake of the Malayalam survival thriller Helen made by the same director, that stars Janhvi Kapoor. The Abhishek Pathak-helmed Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer Drishyam 2, the eagerly awaited sequel to Drishyam (itself a remake), has its origin in the Malayalam crime thriller of the same title helmed by Jeethu Joseph.

Kartik Aryan and Kriti Sanon’s action comedy Shehzada directed by Rohit Dhawan is a remake of Trivikram Srinivas’s Telugu action drama, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Ajay Devgn and Tabu have also teamed up for the former’s self-directed film Bholaa, the remake of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Tamil thriller, Kaithi. Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi are starring in Raj Mehta’s Selfiee, the remake of Lal Jr.’s Malayalam comedy, Driving Licence.

Will these upcoming films work at the box office? The Hindi film industry needs financially successful outcomes desperately. However, everything will depend on whether or not these remakes can convince the potential viewer that they are well-made and worth a watch ‘while being adapted from films that already exist.

Everybody associated with remakes knows that many original versions available online can be accessed for a small rental fee or as a part of a monthly subscription deal. In other words, attracting the viewer to the theatres with remakes is not as easy as earlier.

Working with untested but promising stories is the right thing to do. If makers identify new ideas, among them those with roots in Indian culture, Bollywood will smile again.

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed are personal

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