Unnaipol Oruvan ? Idhaipol oru Padam - Remakes in Tamil Cinema

A rather Wikipedia-estic blog post.

With Dr. Kamal Hassan's Unnaipol oruvan (remake of A Wednesday) and Bharath's Kandein Kadhalai (remake of Jab we Met) hitting the screens anytime now, and with Ninaithaale Inikkum (remake of the malayalam mega hit, Classmates) already creating waves in multiplex circles. I began doing some googling on the prescence of remakes in the tamil movie circuit.

I initially wanted to make a conventional 'top-ten' list of remakes but then realised that everytime i made a list, i looked back at some of the movies and they didnt deserve to be there... and sometimes movies that had been eliminated fought even harder for a chance on the final ten. So what began as a top ten list boiled into a list of movies categorized by actor. A rather Wikipedia-estic blog post.

Just to make sure we're on the same page...I'm talking remakes from other indian languages...not those so called "inspirational tributes" from hollywood and other places overseas. So here we go...

Superstar Rajnikanth: Most trade pundits acknowledge that it was after Billa, the remake of Amitabh Bachan's Don, that Rajni began to monopolize the tamil box office. Billa was followed by Thee, a remake of another Amitach Bachan starrer, Deewar.

During the time when rajni dominated markets in india and overseas, he acted in Muthu which is not acknowledged as a remake, but is heavily inspired by the Malayalam film, Ponmaavin Thombathu.

And of course, after the debacle of Rajni's home production Baba, two out of Rajni's three films have been remakes, Chandramukhi (Manichitra Thaazhu, Malayalam) and Kuselan (Katha Parayumbol, Malayalam)

Dr. Kamal Hassan: The Universal Hero too had his share of remakes from other indian languages in his early years, the most noteworthy of them being Unakkul Oruvan, the remake of Subash Ghai's Karz. Well, technically speaking, Karz itself was heavily 'inspired' by the american film, 'The Reincarnation of Peter Proud'

After a few decades, he returned to the remake scene by starring in the 2003 remake of MunnaBhai MBBS, Vasool Raja MBBS. Following that, he will be acting in the much awaited Unnaipol Oruvan.

Ajith Kumar: Our 'thala' has dabbled with remakes too. Apart from the soulful Kireedom (Kreedam, Malayalam) which failed to rake in the moolah, Ajith made a comeback with the oft-remade Billa where he sashayed with Nayan (ooh. who can forget the much youtube'd Bikini scene at the pool) and Namitha. Also note, that despite being called an orginal screenplay, his 2008 Aegan is heavily inspired by King Kahn's Main Hoon Na.

Vijay: The Illaya thalapathy has by far starred in the largest amount of remakes in this list. But i'm guessing he'll soon be overtaken by another person who's made his entire career of starring in remakes (we'll talk about him soon). Starting with Fazil's Kadhalukku Mariyaadhai (Aniyathi Pravu, Malayalam) and Siddique's Friends (Friends, Malayalam), he also starred in the highly successful commercial blockbuster, Ghilli (Okkadu, Telugu).

His most recent hit, Pokkiri was also a remake of the Telugu film by the same name.

Surya Sivakumar: Surya's Perazhagan (Kunji Koonan, Malayalam) is seen by many as one of the most important films his career along with Gautham's Kaakha Kaakha. Since then there haven't been any movies of his that have been remakes as far as i can think of.

'Chiyaan' Vikram: Vikram, the reigning numero uno of tamil cinema has had two remakes in his career so far. In 2003, the critically acclaimed Kasi (Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Naanum, Malayalam) further cemented Vikram's supermacy as the most bankable star of Tamil Cinema. Vikram also followed his blockbuster film Anniyan with a lighthearted comedy, Maja (Thommanum Makkalum, Malayalam).

'Jayam' Ravi: I did mention that there is one guy who has made his entire career out of starring in remakes directed by his brother 'Jayam' Raja. Here's the list.

Santhosh Subramaniam (Bommarillu, Telugu)
M Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi (Amma Nanna O Tamil Ammayi, Telugu)
Jayam (Jayam, Telugu)
Mazhai (Varsham, Telugu)
Something Something Unakkum Enakkum (Nuvvostenante Naanowhatever, Telugu)

.......and his next movie is also a remake, Thillalangadi which is a remake of the Ravi Teja hit, Kick.

Madhavan: The almost-buck-toothed chocolate boy of indian cinema has two remakes to his credit. The critically acclaimed Evano Oruvan (Dhombivilli Fast, Marathi) and forgettable Guru En Aalu (Yes Boss, Hindi)

Simbhu and Dhanush (chuckle..): Simbhu's much needed hit in his early days came in the form of Dhum, the remake of the kannada film, Appu. After that he worked with veteran director K.S.Ravikumar in the remake of the telugu film Bhadra, which was released in Tamil as Saravana.

Dhanush's much needed hit came in the form of Yaaradi Nee Mohini, the remake of his brother Selvaraghavan's Telugu hit, Adavaari Maatalu Blah Blah.

Others:

Sarath Kumar's rib tickling Tenkaasi Pattanam, a remake of the mayalam film of the same name.

Prashant's 'Shock', a remake of the RGV movie Bhoot.

The Critically acclaimed Kasthuriman, starring Prasanna and Meera Jasmine was a remake of the malayalam film of the same name.

(Thanks for reading. Comment away!)