Romancing the remake

In 2011,movie buffs can expect six films that are remakes of South Indian,Marathi and Hollywood flicks.

Salman Khan will be seen in three of them. He is paired opposite Asin in Anees Bazmee’s Ready,a remake of the 2008 Telugu film of the same name. He will shed his image of an action star and play a distraught father in Mahesh Manjrekar’s Hindi remake of Shikshanacha Aaicha Gho and will romance Kareena Kapoor in Bodyguard,a remake of a Malayalam comedy film by the same name.

National Award-winning director Nishikant Kamat and Vipul Shah will present John Abraham as an angry cop out for revenge in the remake of the Suriya starrer Kaakha Kaakha.

Abbas-Mustan,best known for their racy action thrillers,will be remaking The Italian Job. With a perfect mix of action and comedy,these movies might well become 2011’s blockbusters.

The Bodyguard

The original: Released earlier this year,Bodyguard is a romantic comedy in Malayalam. Directed by Siddique and starring Dileep and Nayantara,the movie revolves around a man who idolises individuals with heroic qualities and soon becomes a bodyguard for a businessman’s daughter. The movie was a box-office success and is now being remade in Tamil with Asin as the female lead.

The remake: Produced by Atul Agnihotri and directed by Siddique,who also helmed the original,the Hindi version titled My Love Story features Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles. It is likely to be released during Eid next year.

Watch out for: This is the third time Salman and Kareena will be seen together. Their earlier two films – Kyon Ki… and Main Aur Mrs Khanna — were box-office duds. Will they break their jinx with this film?

Kaakha Kaakha

The original: Kaakha Kaakha is an action film released in 2003 that catapulted Suriya into the big league. The actor played an upright cop who is out to save his wife (played by real life wife Jyothika). Directed by Gautham Menon,the Tamil film grossed more than Rs 30 crore at the box-office and won several awards. Kaakha Kaakha was remade in Telugu with Venkatesh in the main lead.

The remake: Nishikant Kamat,who earlier helmed issue-based films like Dombivli Fast in Marathi for which he won the National Award,and Mumbai Meri Jaan in Hindi,will be directing the Hindi version. Produced by Vipul Shah,it stars Genelia D’Souza as the female lead.

Watch out for: It will be interesting to see how Kamat directs a typical Hindi potboiler. This is the first time John is playing a cop and has beefed up for the role to play it convincingly. Let’s see if this film can work wonders for John’s career.

The Italian Job

The original: Starring big wigs like Donald Sutherland,Edward Norton,Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron,The Italian Job was a remake of a British film. Released in 2003,it was about a group of thieves who steal gold from a former associate as he had double-crossed them. They create the largest traffic jam in Los Angeles that gives them time to pull off the theft. The film was applauded by critics and viewers alike.

The remake: Abbas-Mustan,who are known for their racy thrillers,are directing the film’s remake. Titled Players,it features a vibrant cast of Abhishek Bachchan,Bipasha Basu,Bobby Deol,Neil Nitin Mukesh,Sonam Kapoor,Omi Vaidya and Sikandar Kher. The director-duo have made some changes to the script and also included new characters to make the film stylish.

Watch out for: Apart from Junior Bachchan,who has worked with Bipasha Basu and Sikandar Kher earlier,the rest of the cast will be seen sharing screen space together for the first time.

Ready

The original: Released two years ago,Ready is a Telugu film starring Ram and Genelia D’Souza. The story is about a student who helps a girl to escape from her wedding and then falls in love with her. How he convinces her two warring uncles to approve of his marriage with her forms the crux of the story. It was a huge hit and was remade in Kannada and Tamil.

The remake: Anees Bazmee,who is known for mad capers like No Entry and Welcome,is directing the Hindi remake of the same name. It stars Salman Khan,Asin,Paresh Rawal,Aarya Babbar and Mahesh Manjrekar. Unlike the original,Salman plays a businessman in this film.

Watch out for: Salman and Asin were seen earlier in London Dreams that sank at the box-office without a trace. But will this jodi be a hit with Ready?

Singam

The original: Released earlier this year,Singam is an action film starring Suriya and Anushka Shetty. Set in a small town,the Tamil film revolves around a righteous cop’s revenge against an extortionist. Made at a cost of Rs 15 crore,Singam ran successfully for 100 days and was Suriya’s fifth blockbuster this year.

The remake: Rohit Shetty,who has enthralled us with the Golmaal franchise,will be directing the Hindi remake of Singam. The as yet untitled venture will feature his favourite hero Ajay Devgn.

Watch out for: Shetty and Devgn are a formidable pair and this will be their second hardcore action film after Zameen that released in 2003. But will they strike success again with this film? Only time will tell.