Southern films are providing fodder for Bollywood filmmakers, with many films made in southern film industries are being remade in Hindi. It is not just Bollywood, but even south filmmakers have began choosing popular Hindi films to be remade in regional languages.
In the past films like "Dabanngg", "Delly Belly", "Khosla ka Ghosla" and "A Wednesday" have been remade in various southern languages and have worked wonders for the makers. This has given a big boost for south filmmakers, who show great interest in remaking worthy Hindi films and tweak it appropriately to suit the taste of the regional audience.
Here is a list of upcoming south remakes of Bollywood films.
"Kahaani" Remake
Vidya Balan's "Kahaani" is getting remade as a Tamil-Telugu bilingual with Nayanthara in the lead. She will be essaying Vidya's memorable role in "Kahaani." Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, "Kahaani" was one of the most critically-acclaimed Bollywood films. Vidya donned the role of Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman in search of her missing husband, in this thriller flick.
Nayanthara, who has several hit south films to her credit, is stepping into Vidya's shoes. It has to be seen if she would be to do justice to the role.
The Tamil-Telugu bilingual has not been given a title. Nayanthara's character name is said to be Anamika. Telugu director Sekhar Kammula of the "Happy Days" and "Leader" fame will be directing this "Kahaani" remake. The film is co-produced by Endemol India, Logline Productions and Select Media Holdings.
"Zanjeer" Remake
Amitabh Bachchan's 1970s film "Zanjeer" is being remade in Hindi as well as in Telugu, with Ram Charan Teja playing the angry young cop role. Priyanka Chopra plays the female lead.
While the Hindi version has been titled "Zanjeer", the Telugu version has been named "Toofan." Director Apoorva Lakhia has wielded the megaphone for the remake.
"Band Baajaa Baaraat" remake
Bollywood's leading production house Yash Raj Films (YRF) is making its foray into the southern film industry.
Their first production is the remake of Anushka Sharma - Ranveer Singh starrer "Band Baajaa Baaraat". The film will be remade in both Tamil and Telugu.
Actor Nani, who was seen in "Eega" ("Naan Ee"), will play the male lead. YRF is introducing newcomer Vaani Kapoor as the female lead. The model-turned-actress has signed a three-film deal with the banner. She is currently working in "Shuddh Desi Romance" starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra.
Vanni's film with Nani went on floors in May. The first schedule of the yet-to-be-titled film has been completed and the next schedule will begin in July.
"Bol Bachchan" Remake
Popular Telugu actors Venkatesh and Ram Pothineni will be seen sharing screen space in the Telugu remake of "Bol Bachchan". Ajay Devgn and Abishek Bachchan appeared in the Hindi version, which was one of the successful films last year.
According to reports, the Telugu version has been titled "Golmaal." Actress Anjali has been paired with Venkatesh. This would be their second film after "Seethamma Vaikitlo Sirimalle Chettu." Shazahn Padamsee will be romancing Ram.
The romantic comedy film is directed by Vijaya Bhaskar.
"Son of Sardar" remake
Ajay Devgn's "Son of Sardar" is being remade in Tamil with Santhanam playing the male lead.
The film titled "Vallavanuku Pullum Aayudham" is set to go on floors in July. The original was first made in Telugu as "Maryada Ramanna" with Sunil as the hero. The film received good reviews and turned out to be a superhit. Subsequently, it was made in other languages including Hindi and Kannada.
The Tamil version "Vallavanuku Pullum Aayudham" will be produced by PVP Cinemas. The film is directed by Srinath.
"Aamir" remake
Raj Kumar Gupta's critically acclaimed film "Aamir" is going to be remade in Tamil.
Debutant Anand Krishna will be directing the film. Vidharth of "Mynaa" fame will be reprising Rajiv Khandelwal's role.
"Golmaal 3" remake
Mohan Babu and his sons Manchu Vishnu and Manoj will be part of a multi-star cast Telugu film, which is reportedly the remake of Hindi film "Golmaal 3."
Directed by Sreevas, the film will also have Varun Sandesh, Thaneesh, Hansika Motwani, Raveena Tandon and Praneetha in pivotal roles.
Mohan Babu had recently said that the film is a remake of a popular Hindi film, but did not reveal the name. However, Hansika had said that the remake of "Golmaal 3" of which she is part of is nearing completion. This suggests that the Mohan Babu film has to be "Golmaal 3."
"Jolly LLB remake"
Subhash Kapoor's "Jolly LLB" is likely to get remade in various southern languages.
Earlier, reports had suggested that Fox Star Studios which produced the film has been approached by producers from the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam industries for a remake.
However, there is no official announcement about the film so far. "Jolly LLB" is court-room comedy flick which received critical acclaim from film buffs. Arshad Warsi played the male lead in the Hindi version.
"Special 26" remake
There have been reports doing the rounds that director Lingusamy has acquired the remake rights of "Special 26", a film based on real life incidents wherein a group posing as CBI officers carried out a fake raid in Mumbai.
Directed by Neeraj Pandey, "Special 26" has Akshay Kumar playing a conman. Lingusamy is expected to direct the Tamil-Telugu version.
Speculations are rife that Tamil film star Suriya might be playing the male lead. Suriya has signed to do a film with Lingusamy. However, it is not known if the film is "Special 26."
There is no official word on the same.
"Oh My God" remake
Two months ago there were reports that the critically-acclaimed "Oh My God" will be remade in Telugu.
Buzz was that Telugu actor Ravi Teja would be reprising the role of Lord Krishna, which was donned by Akshay Kumar in the original.
The script for the Telugu version is being worked out by Paruchuri Brothers, the dialogue-writing duo of Telugu films.
An official announcement regarding the film is yet to be made.
