5 recently announced Bollywood remakes of South Indian films
What's the story
On Tuesday, Bollywood star Ajay Devgn announced his next project, Bholaa. Once again teaming up with Tabu, this 2023 release is the remake of the Tamil film Kaithi (2019), which was written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The trend of the Hindi industry rehashing films from other industries and even their own isn't rare. Here are five remakes that were announced recently/are under production.
#1
'The Great Indian Kitchen' (Malayalam)
Starting off with a recent announcement, Jeo Baby's highly acclaimed Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen is getting remade in Hindi. Pataakha star Sanya Malhotra has been roped in to star opposite Love Story 2050 actor Harman Baweja, who is producing the film with his Baweja Studios. The content-driven drama, announced in February, will be directed by Arati Kadav of Cargo fame.
#2
'Anniyan' (Tamil)
Ranveer Singh is currently promoting his upcoming original release Jayeshbhai Jordaar. However, he will soon step into the shoes of Vikram for the remake of Tamil blockbuster, Anniyan. Announced a year back, S. Shankar, the director of the 2005 psychological thriller, will also be helming the Hindi version. Jayantilal Gada (Pen Studios) will be producing. Notably, the movie had bagged a National Film Award.
#3
'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo' (Telugu)
Allu Arjun's Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo was a sensation when it came out in 2020. Now the Telugu film is being remade for the Hindi audience in the form of Shehzada. Announced last year, lead star Kartik Aaryan began shooting for the film in October 2021. While the original was written-directed by Trivikram Srinivas, Rohit Dhawan will be helming Shehzada. Kriti Sanon is the female lead.
#4
'Driving Licence' (Malayalam)
In March this year, actors Akshay Kumar and Emraan Hashmi welcomed the female leads—Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty—aboard their joint venture, Selfiee. This comedy is the remake of the hit 2019 Malayalam flick, Driving Licence. Prithviraj Sukumaran and Suraj Venjaramoodu had starred in the original, playing Kumar's and Hashmi's roles, respectively. Kumar had announced the project with a fun teaser in January.
#5
'HIT: The First Case' (Telugu)
We will conclude with another remake starring Malhotra. The Ludo star will lead the remake of the 2020 hit, HIT: The First Case. Marking her first collaboration with Rajkummar Rao, the team wrapped up the shoot this week. The Telugu original featured Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma and was a huge hit. Sailesh Kolanu, who had helmed the original, is also directing this version.