2012 gave us many interesting mix of films from different genres, few of which also tasted a decent success at the box office, indicating towards the changing taste of our Indian viewers. But still the passion of ‘Being Inspired’ from the World Cinema continues like a never ending process here.
However this year we do have many official remakes of their originals and some good films adapted from famous short stories and novels too, as a welcome change.
And here goes the list…..!
1. Table No. 21 – Based on a similar theme earlier seen in “Chitkabrey” (2011).
2. Dehraadun Diary – A mix of “No One Killed Jessica” (2011) & “Damini” (1993).
3. ABCD Any Body Can Dance – Inspired from “Step Up” series of the West.
4. Mere Dad Ki Maruti – Takes its clues from “Dude, Where’s My Car?” (2000)
5. Aashiqui 2 – Religiously takes its inspiration from the 1976 version of “A Star Is Born”.
6. Go Goa Gone – Largely modeled on western zombie films such as “Shaun of The Dead” (2004) or “Zombieland” (2009).
7. Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story – Takes is all from Korean film “My Dear Desperado / My Gangster Like Lover” (2010)
8. Ishq in Paris - Highly inspired version of the classic western series of “Before Sunrise” (1995) and “Before Sunset” (2004).
9. Ankur Arora Murder Case – Said to be inspired from a true story, the film is highly inspired from the exact sequences in Sidney Lumet’s “The Verdict” (1982).
10. Raanjhana – Its basic storyline has an important twist quite similar to the one in “Magnificent Obsession” (1954), “Kinara” (1977) & “Tum Bin” (2001).
Official Remakes of the West as well as Hindi and Regional Indian Films.
1. Nautanki Saala – Official remake of a French film “Apred Vous” (2003).
2. Murder 3 – Official Remake of Spanish film “The Hidden Face / La Cara Oculta” (2011).
3. Rangrezz - Official remake of Tamil Hit “Naadodigal (2009).
4. Himmatwala – Official remake of Jeetender, Sridevi starrer, “Himmatwala” (1983)
5. Chashme Baddoor – Official remake of Sai Parnjpe’s Cult Classic “Chashm-e-Buddoor” released in 1981.
6. Shortcut Romeo – An official re-make of director Susi Ganesh’s own successful Tamil film “Thiruttu Payale” (2006) which has a plot quite similar to “Bezubaan” (1982).
Inspired Movies from Real Life Incidents and Life Stories
1. Special 26 – Based on the true story of fake raids reported in the country in the mid 80s.
2. Zila Ghaziabad – Said to be based on the true story of a gang war between two powerful rival groups, which took place in Ghaziabad in early 90s.
3. The Attacks of 26/11 – The director’s own take on the brutal attack of 26/11 in Mumbai.
4. Jolly LLB - Inspired from a real life "Hit & Run Case" of the late 90s.
5. I Don't Luv U - Based on the infamous MMS scandal involving school-going children.
Inspired Movies from Literature and Books
1. Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola – Reminds your of the basic theme of MACBETH and the plot of a German Comedy Play “Mr. Puntila and His Man Matti” written by Bertolt Brecht in 1940.
2. Kai Po Che – An official adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s novel called “The 3 Mistakes Of My Life”.
3. Shootout at Wadala – Reportedly inspired from real life happenings in Mumbai, it is also largely based on Hussain Zaidi’s book "Dongri to Dubai".
4. Bombay Talkies – One of its four stories directed by Dibaker Bannerjee is based on maestro Satyajit Ray’s short story “Patol Babu, Film Star”,
5. Lootera – Loosely based on American author O. Henry's short story “The Last Leaf”.
(Note: Do let me know if you are aware of any other inspired movie which came in the period of Jan-Jun 2013 but is not listed here by chance.)