Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Bollywood still Survives on Plagiarism

Bollywood still Survives on Plagiarism

The latest release of Speed, however even before the film is out similarities are being drawn out between the film and Hollywood's Cellular which released in 2004.

The plot and setting about a man receiving a phone call from a damsel in distress are of course undeniably similar.

A look at Vikram's past creations show that since the past 10 years he has either been making scene-to-scene rip-offs or adaptations of Hollywood movies. We look at some of these

Elaan (2005) connects to Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Of all the films Vikram Bhatt chosen to be inspired from, Elaan had the best source of inspiration. It was inspired by Once Upon a Time in the West - one of the best films ever to be made. Incidentally even Sholay is partially inspired by this film. The story goes on the line of an individual who's lost his loved ones and hires mercenaries to go after the killers.

Even an above average film wouldn't have done justice to such a great source. But Elaan stands as an unsatisfactory film. It was hailed as the comeback film of Mithun Chakraborty's into mainstream cinema, however his half-baked character left fans sorely disappointed. While Once Upon a Time in the West was unsuccessful was at the American box-office due to its extensive length, Elaan, too was a disaster. The Hollywood film, however, received no major recognition either during it's time, but is ranked No. 19 on the list of the greatest films ever made on the movie database.

Deewane Huye Paagal (2005) connects to There's Something About Mary (1998)

Vikram Bhatt once again made a turn towards comedy after Awara Paagal Deewana , but this time in towards the direction of the comedic geniuses; the Farrelly brothers. The film is an undeclared sequel to his earlier comedy Awara Paagal Deewana. The film has Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty who had already proved their super comic timing in Hera Pheri. The screenplay, script and even the gags in Deewane Huye Paagal to its Hollywood counterpart, There's Something About Mary, that it makes us wonder why they even took the trouble of making the film. Yet this is a good remake largely thanks to the actors in it.

There's Something About Mary racked up a whopping 16 awards among which it won the American Comedy Award and Blockbuster Entertainment Award. On the commercial front it was a super hit, with a budget of $23 million dollars it made $176 million. Deewane. on the other hand was a flop.

Jurm (2005) connects to The Fugitive (1993)

Here's another thriller that Vikram Bhatt was 'identified' by. The Fugitive is the story of a man who's escaped the death penalty for wrongful murder of his wife. Not surprisingly, this is the same thing you'll find in Jurm. The film then takes off from there and then begins to resemble Double Jeopardy (1999). But the mixture of these two doesn't result in anything great.

The Fugitive won an Oscar and another 10 awards that included the BAFTA award, the Blockbuster Entertainment Award and a Golden Globe Award. It too was a big hit as it grossed $353 million dollars worldwide on an estimated budget of $ 44 million. Jurm raked in only 4.72 crores and was a flop at the BO.

Aetbaar (2004) connects to Fear (1996)

To see the petite Reese Witherspoon as a college-goer is believable, but it's hard to watch Bipasha Basu playing the same role. Since Aetbaar is a derivative of Fear and runs along the same lines. Girl looking for Mr. Right finds Mr. Wrong instead. It's now up to Daddy Dearest to protect his little girl. Aetbaar also has touches of Cape Fear so the baddie (John Abraham) doesn't only trouble Bips but also her dad played by Amitabh Bachchan. John Abraham does an unsatisfactory job of playing the psycho - of course pretty much anyone would pale in comparison when set against an icon like Robert De Niro ( Cape Fear).

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