The recent spate of films masquerading as remakes of classic is definitely not for me. I for one very strongly feel that classics are better off being left alone than being "digitally mastered" by the present crop of directors. I dont know if there is genuine lack of stories in the film industry or is it just that some producers have enough money to throw at these guys to see if they can "re-create" the magic. I dont know.
Some may argue that these movies are made so that today's generation can enjoy the movies of yester-years. Certain movies stand time and that's why I think they are christened classics. For example, The God father is a classic, where you see it, when you see it and at what age you see it. For me, there are plenty of India movies where any director/cast cannot make full justice to the classics. I cannot imagine anyone else playing the role of Nargis in Mother India. There are plenty of South Indian movies as well which can maintain their pristinity only when left untouched. For me , movies like Nayagan,Swathi Muthyam,Sagara Sangamam,Zanjeer,Mughal-e-Azam,Sholay - are just amazing classics. And I for one feel even if you have the same actors doing those respective roles it would not be the same.
I watched "Billa 2007" recently (yes thankfully only recently) and in my opinion the movie was an absolute disaster. Though I agree that the movie was stylish it was no where near the original(which itself was a remake from Hindi).
Lets say some one decides to remake Nayagan(for people who dont see Tamil movies, this is a great movie and hence make an exception) and for some weird reason decides to cast our very on Simbhu as Velu Nayakar(I still cannot forgive him for draining my $10 on his "Vallavan" sometime back - Dont you dare laugh but yes I did watch it in the theater and please dont ask me why). Talking about classics- "Vallavan" is a must watch too- as I said earlier, irrespective of when/where you watch, Simbhu's histronics will make you laugh your intestines off).Even just imagining the scenario of Simbhu featuring in Nayagan makes me puke( If you think I am underestimating Simbhu's acting ability, please talk to your closest Tamil friend.This is also a test to see how true and good your friend is. If he ever says Simbhu is good, he is your worst foe :D, stay away from him).Everytime I think Kollywood was becoming saner again with some neat movies, they always manage to find ways to get lost. If earlier it was a whole slew of sex-oriented movies, now its time for remakes of old movies. The only consolation being that Bollywood is well and truly "ahead" of us!! :)
Will be bak
...................P
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4 comments:
One main reason why a remake usually doesn't do justice is because while the original is usually tied in someway to the period the movie was taken. The story at its core is usually very honest about the existing reality and everyone and everything adds color to the truth and the whole thing becomes something to behold forever. When you try to remake a story that was honest for its time and try to fit it the current times, it becomes ridiculous. 2) The people who usually play in the classics go on to become huge stars, and when you try to put a new and upcoming hero to fill in the huge star's shoes, it won't work psychologically either.
In this day and age if someone tries to remake a great movie like Varumaiyin niram sigappu, it wouldn't work for the above said 2 points.
And of course, the directors of classics are really talented thinkers and story tellers. The remaking directors are merely hacks.
I think its better if we compare tamil movies to malayalam movies and hope it would reach that level in terms of content and maybe revenue and audience like Bollywood. Bollywood is just parading a bunch of stars with a few songs and fights in the name of a movie.
Karthik,
Agreed. But what I am having a hard time understanding is that how do these remade movies become hits. Don, Billa, Nan Avan Illai were all reasonable hits(barring the infamous Sholay remake rest of them seem to have a okay run at the box office).
I hear that someone is planning a remake of the old "Jaganmohini" with Namitha. Hell, I cant even watch her in regular movies, let alone remake. :)
I agree with your view points on classics and how it should remain the same. Please dont tell Bollywood is ahead of the pack. In my recent memory, I cannot think of any bwood movies which reflects the reality. Invariably most movies would happen either in europe or US.(there would be some exceptions, but they are not the rule.) Bollywood is bigger in budgets and are better planned, but are not necessarily better than tamil movies. Although not remakes- Race, Welcome, Singh is King are some of the stupid movies made ever.
Mayil,
Actually when I said Bollywood was ahead of us I was being very sarcastic. They are ahead in terms of the crap we deliver in the name of movies in general and the remake culture in particular.
Bollywood is probably is in its worst state in recent history and what is worse is that there are very limited signs of it getting better. Last sane movie I saw that came out of the B'wood stalls was "Taare Zameen Par"
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