Bollywood goes on a remake spree

'Devdas', 'Don', 'Agneepath', 'Sahib Bibi aur Gulam', 'Sholay', 'Umrao Jaan' are some of the classic old Hindi blockbusters that Bollywood has created. But these names don't really seem old or classic, do they? Thanks to the new trend of remakes which is reincarnating these classic movies. Yes, remake is the flavour of the season.

Bollywood is serving old wine in a new bottle. With fresh face, new technique, a little twist in the story here and there, voilà movie is ready.

Hoards of old super hit movies are in the pipeline ready to be transformed to a new avatar. Karan Johar's 'Agneepath', under production with Hrithik Roshan, originally starred Amitabh Bachchan. Soham Shah is ready with his interpretation of 'Satte pe Satta'.

David Dhawan also on track to remake the 1981 cult hit 'Chashme Buddoor'. Tigmanshu Dhulia's 'Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster' pays tribute to one of Guru Dutt's classic, almost borrowing the title and the crux of the story.

With small twists in the tail filmmakers try to own a story that has already been sold with a bumper price tag long time back. These series of reconstructing old plots leaves audiences mulling about the new sweeping trend. What makes filmmakers re-visit these classics?

Komal Nahta, editor of "Film Information" and "Koimoi.com" believes, 'Old stories need to be re-told. When there are chances that an entire generation of youngsters may miss out on these classics. There's no harm to legally recap a movie. But of course remake means there is a shortage of original scripts."

While critics worry about the dearth of original scripts, filmmakers don't mind re-telling the story in a new improvised version. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Devdas' was an opulent affair compared to PC Barua's 1936 black & white 'Devdas'. Bhansali also took the liberty to add a twist in the tale. This twist of course added fillip to the commercial viability of the movie. Bhansali's 'Devdas' was a big hit at the box office. It grossed Dh51.42m becoming the highest grossing film of 2002 in India.

Film and media critic Saibal Chatterjee says, "Original ideas are difficult to come by in a film industry that is looking for profits by hook or by crook. Everybody is in a hurry.

So producers/directors prefer to pick tried and tested plots and remake them. They feel that selling old wine in new bottles is safer than producing a fresh brew."

Trade analyst Amod Mehra says, "The remake trend is prevailing mainly because its tried and tested formula which just needs modernisation. And most importantly the heroes as well as the financiers are ready to back a Hit".

Present day filmmakers while reworking on old scripts give a spin to the stories, cook them up with much more style and spice. They work in an advanced technical environment giving the movie a distinctive character. Farhan Akhtar came up with a 'twisted-climax' version of 1978 'Don'. With a good potion of stunts, gadget and gizmos 'Don' did not click with the audiences and was a dud at the box office.

Saibal Chatterjee says, "No amount of money or technology can recapture the intrinsic power of, say, a Saheb Biwi Aur Ghulam or a Pyaasa. The recent Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster was no patch on the Guru Dutt classic. Similarly, Dev D. was an interesting experiment but it can never be compared with the Bimal Roy version of Devdas. No matter how much money you spend, you cannot remake 'Mother India' or 'Do Bigha Zameen'. Films like Don and Agneepath can be remade because they weren't great films anyways, only super hits that made pots of money."

The debate continues about the master pieces being left alone. Komal Nahta, editor of "Film Information" and "Koimoi.com" says, "I see no problem with remakes when it’s legally done. It will only enlighten younger generation about the good stories or work done by previous Bollywood stalwarts."

"In fact I don't see anything wrong in proper adaptation of Hollywood movies which is relevant and can do well with the Indian audiences," he continues. You like it or not the remake trend is on a roller-coaster ride in the Indian film industry. Few may be admirably inspired others might leave the bones turning with grief in the grave due to the brutal sophomore struggle.

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