Actor Aamir Khan is set to return to the big screen this summer with his new film, Sitaare Zameen Par. The film, which sees him play a basketball coach training a team of players with special needs, is a remake of the Spanish film Campeones. It had also inspired the Hollywood film Champions. Even as Sitaare Zameen Par receives flak for being a 'copy', Aamir has defended remakes, saying they are always a new take on an existing story. (Also read: Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par 'frame by frame copy' of Hollywood film that copied Spanish film? Internet is confused)
Aamir Khan defends remakes
Sitaare Zameen Par is Aamir's first film in three years. His previous release - Laal Singh Chaddha - was also a remake, being the official adaptation of Forrest Gump. Addressing this on Raj Shamani's podcast, Aamir said, "After Laal Singh (Chaddha), a lot of people told me, 'you are making a remake again'. Laal Singh was trolled heavily for being a remake. But I am a different kind of person. I don't understand practical things. I don't have any problem with a remake, and I don't feel my creativity is diminishing at all. For me, it is new work. Someone else made this story, and I am giving it my perspective."
‘Everyone praises Shakespeare but slams film remakes’
Aamir further defended film remakes by equating them with theatrical adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays. "People still do Shakespeare to this day. Even today, the number one playwright in theatre is Shakespeare, worldwide. Even today, his plays are adapted in every language. And we praise it. Kyun bhai? Remake hai, usko band karo (Why though? It's a remake, shut it). Aap apna naatak likho na, Shakespeare ka kyun kar rahe ho aaj tak (You write your own play, why are you doing Shakespeare). This is wrong thinking. When I adapt Shakespeare, I am putting my energies into it. I find this discussion on remakes useless."
{{/usCountry}}Aamir further defended film remakes by equating them with theatrical adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays. "People still do Shakespeare to this day. Even today, the number one playwright in theatre is Shakespeare, worldwide. Even today, his plays are adapted in every language. And we praise it. Kyun bhai? Remake hai, usko band karo (Why though? It's a remake, shut it). Aap apna naatak likho na, Shakespeare ka kyun kar rahe ho aaj tak (You write your own play, why are you doing Shakespeare). This is wrong thinking. When I adapt Shakespeare, I am putting my energies into it. I find this discussion on remakes useless."
{{/usCountry}}William Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest playwrights in the English language. His iconic plays like Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear, and A Comedy of Errors have been adapted thousands of times on stage and screen. Several Indian films, notably Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara, Maqbool, and Haider, are also adaptations of his plays.
Meanwhile, Aamir is returning to the big screen with RS Prasanna's Sitaare Zameen Par. The film releases on 20 June.
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