Bollywood is on a mission – to dig its own grave. This statement might seem like an exaggeration to some. But it is hundred percent fact. Bollywood has lost the plot – and spectacularly. The writing’s been on the wall since long – the ‘Laal Singh Chaddha‘ trailer last night just slammed it home with full force.
Bollywood is plotting its own death—or murder, if you will—by using the silliest weapon at its disposal – remakes! Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, English, Spanish, French, German, Korean, Japanese – you name it, and Bollywood is currently remaking a film/films from all of these film industries.
Gosh, Bollywood is not even sparing its own cult classics – Cirkus, a remake of the superb Angoor, arrives in December. Just recently came the news of remakes in development of two most-loved oldies – ‘Anand’ and ‘Chupke Chupke’.
And all we can say is ewww!
Especially after last night’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ trailer.
Why can’t our Bollywood filmmakers understand this very simple reality – today, at the height of the streaming era, what sense is it to remake films that audiences have already seen and loved on streaming platforms? Maybe before the Covid-19 pandemic, remakes made sound business sense. After all, Kabir Singh, a remake of Telugu hit ‘Arjun Reddy’ was a smashing hit.
But the Covid-19 pandemic, and its accompanying lockdown, has changed everything. When digital entertainment was their only saviour, people took to streaming platforms like fish takes to water. And the sky was the limit to the content they watched – and in every language.
Today, people are watching more content on OTT than ever before; and not just in their own languages. Viewers who wouldn’t otherwise have gone to the theatres to catch movies in other languages, are watching these movies on streaming platforms. So when a remake of a film they’ve watched and loved in its original form comes along, audiences are just not interested.
Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey bombed badly in April, for the sole reason that people had already watched its Telugu original of the same name. Ditto with Bachchhan Paandey.
And Laal Singh Chaddha will meet the same fate, because it’s a badly made remake of ‘Forrest Gump’, a film loved and adored universally, with Tom Hanks’ masterclass-in-acting performance. Quite frankly, the ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ trailer was an atrocious monstrosity and a humiliating disgrace to the fine art of filmmaking.
Bollywood films will keep bombing badly at the box office if Bollywood movers and shakers keep repeating the same ‘ghisa-pita’ strategy – remaking other language hits. Can’t they understand that remakes of films are a colossal waste of resources – physical, financial and mental.
Dear Bollywood, the grave is already dug and ready. Keep the remakes coming, and you’ll just find yourself buried under and left for dead.
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