10 Hollywood Movies Inspired By Indian Films
Indian films have always been criticized for copying ideas from the west, especially from Hollywood. To be honest, it is a fair criticism as many films have been inspired or directly copied by Indian filmmakers. But what about the other way around, do the films of the west ever take any inspiration from our films? The answer is yes. While there aren’t too many films that have done this, there are a few notable instances where this has happened. So here are ten films with some desi influence.
1. ‘A Common Man’: A Wednesday
This American and Sri Lankan venture is considered as a remake of Neeraj Pandey’s cult classic. The remake was able to match up to its original in terms of the acting. Starring Oscar winner Ben Kinglsey, the film was well received and it went on to win a host of awards.
2. ‘Broken Horses’: Parinda
For starters, the film is a remake of the 1989 Hindi film. Both the films were directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is a rare feat for an Indian film to be remade in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the American version didn’t taste as much success as the Hindi version.
3.‘Divorce Invitation’: Aahvaanam
Another case of an Indian film being remade for an American audience. This film was made by the director of the original Telugu film. S.V. Krishna Reddy adapted his work fifteen years after the release of ‘Aahvaanam’. The changing of the setting from Andhra Pradesh to America was not too successful as the film only received mixed reviews upon release.
4. ‘E.T.’: Satyajit Ray’s The Alien
‘The Alien’ was to be the Hollywood debut of our very own Satyajit Ray but unfortunately, circumstances prevented the film from taking off. The story known in Bengali as Bankubabur Bandhu was about an extra terrestrial creature that lands up in rural Bengal. Although this film never got made, the script was available in America. When E.T. came out, many including Ray himself noted many similarities between the two stories. Even though Spielberg has dismissed this claim, it is hard to miss the similar themes and ideas present in both.
5. ‘Fear’: Darr
While ‘Fear’ doesn’t have the exact same story line as ‘Darr’, there are many scenes in the Hollywood flick which appear to have been inspired by Shah Rukh Khan’s role in the film. Apart from both characters being violent and obsessive lovers, both the films have a scene where the name of the girl is carved into the protagonist’s chest.
6. ‘Forty Shades Of Blue’: Charulata
Satyajit Ray is one Indian director whose influence on world cinema is well known. Many directors have looked up to him as a source of inspiration. One such occasion was when director Ira Sachs made his 2005 feature, ‘Forty Shades Of Blue’. The film’s story is very similar to that of the Bengali film. The American film was critically successful and even won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival
7. ‘Kill Bill’: Abhay
Kamal Haasan has many a time looked at the west for inspiration. But this time, it was the other way around. The animation sequences featured in the film caught the attention of Quentin Tarantino. He stated in an interview that, the animation scenes in ‘Kill Bill’ were inspired by Abhay which is high praise indeed.
8. ‘Leap Year’: Jab We Met
The story line of both the films is very similar. The main plot of both the films is that of a woman who is on a journey, to meet her boyfriend, but ends up meeting another guy. It does sound similar to the story of Geet. The fact that the director of the film, Anand Tucker, has Indian roots also signs in the direction that he clearly saw Jab We Met and found the inspiration from there. Even Imtiaz Ali touched upon the influence of his film and stated that he felt proud of it
9. ‘The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud’: Madhumati
One of Bimal Roy’s finest, served as the inspiration for a Bollywood as well as a Hollywood. In Hindi, it was made as ‘Karz’ and in America it was made as ‘The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud’ which deals with the same themes as ‘Madhumati’. While we don’t know for sure that the American film was directly influenced by one of our own, there sure are many similarities.
10. ‘Divorce Invitation’: Aahvaanam
Another case of an Indian film being remade for an American audience. This film was made by the director of the original Telugu film. S.V. Krishna Reddy adapted his work fifteen years after the release of ‘Aahvaanam’. The changing of the setting from Andhra Pradesh to America was not too successful as the film only received mixed reviews upon release.
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