Even Reservoir Dogs is a copycat!

Pankaj Kapoor / TNN / Sep 18, 2002, 20:56 IST

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Kaante has been dubbed as a copy of Quentin Tarantino’s directorial debut movie Reservoir Dogs. But can director Sanjay Gupta be accused of copying when Reservoir Dogs itself is a lift?

<arttitle>Even <i>Reservoir Dogs</i> is a copycat!</arttitle>

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">Which one is the original? That is the question. The Sanjay Gupta-directed Kaante was in the news in the UK recently â€”for all the wrong reasons. The Sunday Times carried a report stating that Hollywood might just wake up to the Bollywood way of remaking its movies on the sly. For those not clued in, Kaante, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty, among others, has been dubbed as a copy of Quentin Tarantinoâ€™s directorial debut movie Reservoir Dogs (1992). So far so good.But does Hollywood have a copyright on copying original ideas? Can Gupta be accused of copying Reservoir Dogs when Reservoir Dogs itself is a lift? â€˜â€˜Sing a happy song, then do a two-step shuffle and slice off the kidnapped policemanâ€™s ear,â€™â€™ is how a report in The Sunday Times describes Kaante. The report quotes a Hollywood lawyer as saying: â€˜â€˜Until now, it has not been worth our time tangling with film-makers in a Mumbai court. But if this Reservoir Dogs rehash starts making serious money in the East, then we shall have to start investigating how closely such movies are copying the originals.â€™â€™ Now letâ€™s go back to Reservoir Dogs. Itâ€™s a story of how mastermind Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a crew of top-notch criminals to pull off a jewellery store heist. As the film opens, it becomes clear that the plan has backfired, forcing the survivors, who have gathered at an abandoned warehouse, to figure out if one of them is a police informer. Cut to 1987. Ringo Lam, one of the new wave Hong Kong directors, who has directed two formula films, Esprit Dâ€™Amour and Aces Go Places 4, finally gets a chance to direct a film which he has been meaning to. The film is titled City Of Fire and stars Chow Yun-Fat. City Of Fire tells the tale of an undercover cop (Chow Yun-Fat) who goes in too deep infiltrating a gang of jewel thieves while befriending a veteran gangster (Danny Lee). Any similarities between Kaante, oops, Reservoir Dogs and City Of Fire? Well, Reservoir Dogs not only lifts the storyline of this Hong Kong production, but also key scenes and the ending. The West describes Reservoir Dogs as a homage to City Of Fire and how the ultra-hip soundtrack and pop culture dialogues made the film seem wholly original. So much so, Tarantinoâ€™s distinct cinematic vision later become one of the most mimicked styles of the 1990s. Yes, Tarantinoâ€™s directorial debut has served as a trend-setter for Hollywood, but does this change the ground reality for Reservoir Dogs... and from where the film was inspired, remade or copied?</div> </div>

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