In the coming few months, if you happen to come across Ajay Devgn playing a cop in a compelling crime drama and are reminded of Idris Elba’s class act as DCI John Luther, do not be surprised. The Bollywood superstar is all set to make his OTT debut with Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, the official Hindi adaptation of Elba’s British series, Luther. However, this is neither the first nor the last we have seen of official Indian remakes of international shows or movies.
Right from shows such as Criminal Justice, and The Office, to movies such as Knight and Day, and The Girl on the Train, international productions have fascinated production companies here, who have brought them to Indian shores in the form of Hindi adaptations. The good news is that Indian filmmakers are no longer directly copying or ‘seeking inspiration’ – as they would in earlier days – but taking the official route to reimagining the international shows and films for the Indian scenario.
In the pipeline are quite a few Indian remakes of popular international productions.
Call My Agent
The French workplace comedy-drama revolves around the personal and professional lives of four agents of a Paris-based talent firm and became a global sensation when it dropped on Netflix. One of the show’s biggest draws are the cameos by some of French cinema’s most popular names who play fictionalised versions of themselves. Now, an Indian remake helmed by Shaad Ali will see actors such as Rajat Kapoor, Soni Razdan, Aahana Kumra and Ayush Mehra capture the chronicles of Bollywood agents.
Guilt
Jaideep Ahlawat and Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub will be headlining the Hindi adaptation of British mystery drama,Guilt. The Paatal Lok actor and the Tandav actor, will play brothers whose lives spiral out of control after an unfortunate incident. Once again, it is director Shaad Ali behind the camera. The series will be produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India.
Forrest Gump
The bits and glimpses we have seen of Aamir Khan-Kareena Kapoor Khan starrer Laal Singh Chaddha has fuelled our curiosity about the official Hindi adaptation of Forrest Gump set to release this December. Similar to the 1994 original starring Tom Hanks, Khan’s film will showcase India’s history unfold through events seen from the perspective of the protagonist. This will be the superstar’s first release after the debacle called Thugs of Hindostan.
The Intern
Watching Rishi Kapoor play a fashion intern at his age would have made for an interesting watch but the actor’s untimely death changed a few things for the Hindi adaptation of the Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway comedy-drama film. Now, Piku co-stars Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone will re-unite in the remake of the 2015 Hollywood movie. In the original, Ben Whittaker (De Niro) plays a 70-year-old widower who strikes up an unlikely friendship with Jules Ostin (Hathaway) when he joins the fashion website’s CEO’s company as a senior intern.
The Night Manager
British mini-series The Night Manager is the recipient of several Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and Primetime Emmys, and it was only a matter of time that an Indian adaptation would be announced. While there were no formal announcements, Hrithik Roshan was rumoured to make his debut on the OTT platform with the adaptation which had Tom Hiddleston as the protagonist in the original. Manoj Bajpayee’s name was also circulated as the antagonist. However, it seems that both opted out citing date issues. Reportedly, the makers are on the lookout for the main cast before they make any announcements for the adaptation of the spy drama.
Fauda
The critically-acclaimed Israeli series that highlighted the conflict between Israel and Palestine is all set to be remade in Hindi with the focus shifting to the complicated relationship between India and Pakistan. Fauda, meaning chaos in Arabic, is the commandos’ codeword for when an operation goes awry. It has been reported that filmmaker Sudhir Mishra will helm the Indian adaptation with actor Manav Vij (of Andhadhunfame) playing the lead. Although the remake was announced in 2019, the shoot has been delayed because of the pandemic.
Run Lola Run
Earlier this year, Taapsee Pannu shared the first look from her upcoming movie Looop Lapeta on her social media with the caption ‘welcome on board a crazy ride’. The Aakash Bhatia-directorial is a remake of the German comedy-thriller Run Lola Run starring Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu and follows a woman who needs to arrange 100,000 Deutsche Mark in 20 minutes in order to save her boyfriend. In an interview with a newspaper, Pannu had said, “Frankly, it is an experiment. We need to see if the audience will accept it. I personally feel that the concept is still untouched. It is not something that’s very regular or people have seen before. Having said that, it is still an experiment. I think the concept of the film will stand valid for a few more decades if you ask me.”