Not just Shahid Kapoor’s Kabir Singh, these Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt southern remakes have same formula for success

While films from South and Bollywood have often been remade in the respective industries, it is the first time that the director of the original film is being retained for the remake too, examples being Kabir Singh, Laxmmi Bomb and Prasthanam’s Hindi remake.

Remaking hit south films in Bollywood and vice versa has been happening for quite some time now. And most enjoy a successful run at the box office, too. What’s new here is that now, even the directors of the original films are donning the director’s hat for the remake!

While Kabir Singh is a remake of hit Telugu film Arjun Reddy, Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb will be a remake of Tamil film Kanchana.

The latest being Kabir Singh that has been directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who also helmed the 2017 Telugu film, Arjun Reddy starring Vijay Deverakonda.

Looking ahead, Laxmmi Bomb starring Akshay Kumar, a remake of the horror-comedy Muni 2: Kanchana, is being helmed by Raghava Lawrence, who not only directed, but also acted in the original. Prasthanam, the 2010 Telugu film directed by Deva Katta, is being remade with the same director, and actor Sanjay Dutt in the lead.

Deva says having the same director for the remake has both pros and cons. “Directors are clear about their intent, and every choice they make in terms of the story. They know the roots of the story, so they’ll be able to bring coherence, just like connecting different musical notes,” he says, explaining how, in some cases, it could also backfire.

Prassthanam, Kabir Singh and Laxmmi Bomb will retain the original version’s directors.

“When you’re exactly duplicating or copying what has worked, it’s not about the language. Talking about Prasthanam, each actor is a different instrument. If I try to insist on exactly the same kind of expressions or shots, I’ll be making it mechanical. Rather, you should let the actors find their own way,” adds Deva, asserting that the director must know what he should hold on to and what to let go.

Producer Bhushan Kumar, who co-produced Kabir Singh, calls this same-director-for-remake phenomenon a recent trend. “Initially, people had reservations with taking a director from the south for a Hindi film. Everybody thought the sensibilities won’t match. So, whenever they wanted to remake a south film, they opted for someone from Bollywood only. That’s changing now. After the success of the original film, when the same director is remaking the film, they bring the same punch and feel,” he opines.

With this trend, it seems, the director also gets to make the changes he couldn’t in the original. “The director can re-work,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh, “and make the remake more impactful. You always make changes in a remake keeping in mind the market.”

Actor Tusshar Kapoor, co-producer of Laxmmi Bomb, sums up by saying, “Raghava made the original, so we signed him for the remake. There was never going to be any change. I hope that the film becomes a huge hit.”

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