Titles that cut across the ‘woods’

Kollywood

films and its numerous title controversies aren’t anything new. Similarly, there have been filmmakers, who, of late, are resort to naming their projects with titles of yesteryear movies. Interestingly, there is another trend, too, that is visible of late. Call it coincidence or otherwise, some of the recent

Tamil

films have the same title as

movies

from the other industries. Curiously, they are neither remakes nor do they fall under similar genres or share same story lines. Here are a few such recent Tamil

films

that share a similar title with films from the other ‘woods’…

Rangoon

This Gautham Karthik-starrer, set against the backdrop of north Madras, is a tale of a friendship, family values, trust, betrayal and smuggling. The film directed by Rajkumar Periasamy was produced by filmmaker AR Murugadoss. Bollywood, too, had a film with the similar title, which released earlier this year. Starring Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Kangana in lead roles, this Vishal Bhardwaj movie was a romantic war drama.

Maya
Ashwin Saravanan’s debut flick turned out to be one of the well-made horror flicks from Kollywood in recent years. With Nayanthara essaying one of the best roles in her career, the film was among the best Tamil films of 2015. A psychological thriller with the same title was released in 2014 in Tollywood. This movie, directed by Neelakanta, had Harshvardhan Rane and a slew of female artistes, but it was an average grosser.

Joker
This National Award-winning film, directed by Raju Murugan, won rave reviews from critics and audience alike, thanks to its relevance in the present society. Loaded with ample political satire, the movie, which had Guru Somasundaram essaying the lead role, touched upon several issues. A Bollywood film starring Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha released a few years ago with the same title. It belonged to sci-fi genre, but the outlandish attempt of director Sirish Kunder was a damp squib at the box office.

Tubelight
The film, which released recently, dealt with the story of a person who suffered from a bizarre disorder. Indra and Adithi played pivotal roles in this low-budget flick, directed by Indra himself. Interestingly, an upcoming Bollywood film also possesses the same name. This action flick by Kabir Khan, inspired from the Hollywood film Little Boy, stars Salman Khan, and has Shah Rukh Khan making a cameo, too.

Bruce Lee
A dark comedy, the film had Kriti Kharbanda and GV Prakash in lead roles. Directed by Prasanth Pandiyaraj, it was both a critical and commercial failure. Tollywood, too, had a film with the same title, starring Ram Charan, Rakul Preet and Arun Vijay (his debut in Telugu). Interestingly, the production of both the films happened during the same time. Directed by Srinu Vaitla, the Telugu film, too, did not create any impact at the BO.