Tollywood is in remake mode and the numbers tell the story. Earlier remakes were flops, but in the last 10 months, over 35 remakes of Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada and even Hollywood cinema have been made. So why do filmamkers opt for remakes over original storylines? Some feel it is a lazy, uncreative option. But for others, remakes are quick to make and if the film is already successful. Interestingly, many big Tollywood stars like Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Ram Charan and Venkatesh have all chosen to do remakes of hit Tamil films as their upcoming projects. The latest entrant is Tamannah, who is doing the remake of Hindi hit film Queen.
“I am not against someone doing a remake, but I personally decided that I don’t want to do one. When somebody is looking for a story and sitting on it for months, then they opt for a remake, which is a quick process, reasons director Indraganti Mohan Krishna.
Still from Premam
They don’t need to do anything as they get the story and sometimes dialogues too. You need to just make a few changes here and there to suit the local nativity,” says Indraganti Mohan Krishna.
Interestingly, many of the films that are remade in Tollywood are flops, while a few films like Premam taste success. Even the latest Naruda Donoruda, a remake of hit Hindi film Vicky Donor was a disaster. “It is very difficult and challenging for a director to do a remake. The film is already a big success in one language and when you try recreate the same in your language, it becomes very difficult for a director to make it a success,” says Harish Shankar. He adds that when he made Gabbar Singh, a remake of Hindi hit film Dabbang, he made a lot of changes. He adds, “I completely support remakes. Just as you can be inspired by an incident, a character or something else from society, many people are inspired by film subjects. It’s not wrong but the only thing is you have to do it with utmost care.”
Naruda Donoruda was a remake of Vicky Donor
“Doing a remake does not give enough space for your creativity as a director because it’s not the original and sometimes, even the dialogues are the same. But from a business standpoint, it may work out well, especially since the film is already successful and may work here as well,” says Indraganti.
Some producers also feel that the film is good and they want to bring the same to the Telugu audiences. So, does this trend reflect lack of writers and storytellers in Tollywood? “There is plenty of talent here. Producers and stars should change their mindset and encourage them. In Tamil or Malayalam, the writers come up with their subjects, taking inspiration either from their life or from society. That’s why so much variety is coming up in both those languages. In Tollywood, many of our writers don’t have literary knowledge. If they read the literary works, they can understand society, human psychology, the surroundings and come up with good subjects,” feels Indraganti.
He adds that most of the writers follow the previous hit film for a story rather doing a new idea. “It’s because the producers want to follow the typical formula,” he says. Not surprisingly, Telugu films are not much in demand in other languages as there are very few originals.
Upcoming films
Thani Oruvan (Tamil) – Dhruva
Kaththi (Tamil) – Khaidi No.150
Sala Kadoos (Tamil) – Guru
Veeram (Tamil) – Katamarayudu
Two countries (Malayalam) – Untitled Sunil film
Hunter (Hindi) – Hunter
Two States (Hindi)
Queen (Hindi)
