Successful remakes of Malayalam movie

Like translations in literature, remakes in movies, sometimes couldn't replicate or induce the same feelings like that of the original work. However, it is always great, if a good piece of artwork can cross language barriers even at the cost of losing some original elements. Malayalam cinema has produced some class movies over the years which, for its appealing content, have inspired directors to remakes it in other languages. Here we take a look at some successful Malayalam movies that have been remade in other languages.

An evergreen romantic comedy, Thenmavin Kombath, directed by Priyadarshan has Mohanlal and Shobhana in the lead roles. The movie revolves around the lives of Manikyan and Srikrishnan and how their lives change after meeting young women Karthumbi accidentally. The grand commercial success of the movie prompted the makers of ‘Thenmavin Kombath’ to remake the movie in other languages. Released in 1994, the movie's first remake was made in Tamil naming ‘Muthu’ in 1995. Rajinikanth played the titular role while Meena did Shobhana's role. The movie was directed by KS Ravikumar. The film became the highest grossing Tamil movie of those times, running over 175 days across Tamil Nadu.

A psychological family thriller which broke all box-office records in Kerala, Drishyam directed by Jeethu Joseph had all the ingredients to engage any movie lover to sit through the film. Mohanlal, Meena, Kalabhavan Shajon and Asha Sharath played lead characters in the movie, which tells the story of how an ordinary man cleverly deceives an entire system for the safety of his family. The movie was instantly adapted to remake in other languages. While Telugu and Kannada versions of the movie were released in 2014, Tamil and Hindi were released in 2015. All the four remakes were successful in theatres. Kamal Haasan and Gouthami played the roles in the Tamil version, while Ajay Devgn and Tabu played the roles in Hindi version.

An unusual love story, ‘Bodyguard’, directed by veteran Siddique had Dileep and Nayanthara in lead roles. The movie was a commercial success in Mollywood. The comical sequences and an unexpected climax made the movie popular among the audience. The success of the movie saw Bodyguard being made into Tamil and Hindi, both of which were blockbusters. Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan played lead roles in the Hindi version, while Vijay and Asin played the lead roles in ‘Kavalan’, Tamil remake of the movie.

‘Kadhaparayumbol’, directed by M Mohanan and written by Sreenivasan, tells the story of a barber's life and how his life turns around when a celebrity comes to his village. The movie treated in a comical way ends with a heartwarming story of friendship between the barber and the celebrity. Sreenivasan, Mammootty and Meena played lead characters in the movie. The storyline which appeals to all types of the audience made the movie a huge success which drew interest from other industries for a remake of this Malayalam movie. The movie was initially made in Tamil named ‘Kuselan’ which had superstar Rajinikanth and Pasupathi in lead roles, while the Telugu version of the movie named ‘Kathanayakudu’ had Jagapathi Babu playing Sreeni's role while Rajini played Mammootty's role. Both the movies, owing to alterations to the original script, failed at the box-office. But the Hindi version named ‘Billu’, directed by Priyadarshan with Shah Rukh Khan and Irrfan Khan in lead roles was a massive hit in Bollywood.

An evergreen Malayalam classic, ‘Manichitrathazhu’, directed by Fazil intertwines myth with a psychological disorder. The movie was a hit for its comic storyline and narration. Mohanlal, Shobhana and Suresh Gopi played the lead roles in this horror comedy. The movie was remade into four Indian languages: Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Bengali. The Hindi version named ‘Bhul Bhulaiyya’ directed by Priyadarshan had Akshay Kumar playing the role of Mohanlal and in Tamil version 'Chandramukhi', Rajinikanth plays Mohanlal's role. Chandramukhi was one of the biggest hits of that year in Tollywood.