The year 2011 was certainly much better than 2010 with many good films making their impression on the viewers from the month of January itself. In fact it was the best January for Bollywood till date as per my movie watching experience.
But as usual the inspired movies list is still there as an unstoppable feature of Hindi Film Industry. However the notable point is that this year we have a longer list of remakes and more films based on real life inspired stories
And here it goes the list…..,
1. Turning 30 - Basic idea behind the film looks like influenced by famous western projects such as “Bridget Jones Diary” (2001) and “Sex & The City” (2008).
2. Utt Pataang – Completely lifted froma Japanese movie titled “Unmei Janai Hito” or “A Stranger Of Mine”released in 2005.
3. F.A.L.T.U – Heavily based on “Accepted” (2006) which was also said to be made around a similar idea used in “Camp Nowhere” (1994).
4. Dharti (Punjabi) – A toned down regional version of Prakash Jha’s “Raajneeti” (2010)
5. Zokkomon - Its main story plot borrows heavily from the one we have already seen in a well made children film by Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Makdee” (2002).
6. Shor In The City – Has a sequence inspired from2010 British black comedy called “Four Lions”.
7. Chalo Dilli – A good but unofficial remake of the English Hit “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987).
8. Naughty @ 40 – Inspired from English Sex Comedy “The 40 Years Old Virgin” (2005) and from our own Bollywood’s Sex-Comedy’s called “Anubhav” (1986).
9. Haunted – References of “The Entity” (1982) and our own version of it called “Hawa” (2003) featuring Tabu. The climax reminds you of the of “Ringu” (1998) andthe plot of going into the past also has a hangover of 80s “Back To The Future” series of films.
10. Luv Ka The End – Follows the basic plot of “John Tucker Must Die” (2006). Also reminds you of “Mean Girls” (2004) and the famous Net Telecast sequence seen in the “American Pie” series of films.
11. Ragini Mms – Indianised version of “Paranormal Activity” (2007) and scenes from “The Blair Witch Project” (1999)
12. Shaitan - A rehashed version of Anurag Kashyap’s ownfilm “Paanch” (2002) which also reminds you of “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997) and “Very Bad Things” (1998).
13. Love Express - Works around the same plot used in “Socha Na Tha” (2002)
14. Bin Bulaye Baarati - Takes references from “Pratiggya” (1975)
15. Murder 2 – Frame to frame lifted from an engrossingly well made Korean Thriller called “The Chaser” released in 2008. Plus its posters were copied from an English film “Antichirst” (2009) & a Korean Film “Bad Guy” (2001).
16. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – An otherwise well made film copies one of its posters from the English flick “Lords of Dogtown” (2005) and is sadly based on all inspired content taken from 1985 English film "Fandango".
17. I Am Kalam – The plot in its final hour reminds you of 1957 Black & White Classic produced by Raj Kapoor and directed by Amar Kumar called “Ab Dilli Door Nahin”.
18. Speedy Singhs – Based on the same plot & characterizations as seen earlier in “Bend It Like Beckham” & “Patiala House” revolving around different sports.
19. Chatur Singh Two Star – Cheaply based on all copied sequences & characterization from the famous “Pink Panther” series featuring Peter Sellers.
20. Mere Brother Ki Dulhan – Revolves around the same basic outline, which was earlier tackled in a serious mode by Onir in his “Sorry Bhai” (2008).
21. Rascals – Completely based on English Classic “Bedtime Story” (1964) which was again remade as “Dirty Rotten Scoudrels” in 1988. The same films were also copied by 3 Hindi films namely, “Johar Mehmood in Hongkong” (1971), “Khel” (1992) and then partially in the famous “Andaz Apna Apna” (1994) too.
22. Azaan – Takes its references for execution from the famous “BOURNE series”.
23. RA.One – Takes it inspiration from our own “Robot” (2010) and several references from classic Super-Hero films such as “Frankenstein”, “Terminator-2”,” Spider-Man”,” Iron-Man”, “Batman”, “Bicentennial Man” and “Matrix”. It even has a parking scene inspired from one of the episodes of “Mr. Bean” and also has a poster similar to that of “Batman” where the hero is holding the lady in his both hands. Moreover, the coward father and the provoking child relationship also reminds you of a Kishan Kumar film called “Papa The Great” (2000), which was too based on the same theme.
24. Chitkabrey – Has an inspired poster taking its inputs from English film “Identity” (2003) and a plot reminding you of TV Reality program “Big Boss”.
25. Loot – A carbon copy of English lesser known thriller “Crime Spree” (2003).
26. Desi Boyz – Takes its references from “Deuce Bigalow : Male Gigolo” (1999) and “The Full Monty” (1997)
27. Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster - A contemporary take on Guru Dutt's classic “Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam” (1962).
28. Tell Me O Khuda – Has a similar theme as in Hema Malini’s own “Dil Aashna Hai” (1992) and the sub-plot in “Kabhie Kabhi”. It also reminds you of Meryl Streep’s “Mamma Mia” (2008) and a bit of Saawan Kumar’s “Mother) (1999) featuring Rekha in the lead role.
29. Who’s There – Takes it plot & poster references from “What Lies Beneath” (2000)
30. Phhir – Takes its references from “Eyes of Laura Mars” (1978).
31. Mujhse Fraandship Karoge – Takes a sequence from “American Pie” (1999) and the basic plot from “You’ve Got Mail” (1998).
32. Ladies Vs. Ricky Bahl – Reminds you of similar plots in films such as “John Tucker Must Die” (2006), “Naan Avanillai” (Tamil) (1974 & 2007) and Jeffrey Archer’s novel “Not a Penny More, Not A Penny Less” revolving around a comparable outline.
Official Remakes from other Regional Indian Films & World Cinema
1. Ready - Official Remake of Telugu Hit “Ready” (2008)
2. Singham – Official remake of Tamil Hit “Singam” (2010)
3. Bodyguard – Official remake of the director’s own film with the same title made in Malayalam in 2010.
4. Force – Official remake of the Tamil Hit “Kaakha Kaakha” released years back in 2003
5. Soundtrack – Official remake of English film “Its All Gone Pete Tong” (2004)
6. Mod - Official remake of a Taiwanese film “Chen Shui De Qing Chun” aka “Keeping Watch” (2007).
7. Jaana Pehchaana – A sequel inspired from Rajshri’s own 1978 film “Ankhiyon Ke Jharoke Se.”
8. Chala Musaddi Office Office – A big screen adaptation of the hugely famous T.V. Serial “Office Office” featuring the same actors and characters.
Inspired Movies from Real Life Incidents and Life Stories
1. Hostel – Based on the real life cruel incident of Ragging in College.
2. Monica – Loosely based onthe infamous Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.
3. No One Killed Jessica – Made on the true story of Jessica Lall, a Delhi-based model, who was shot in 1999 at a New Delhi restaurant.
4. Patiala House – The basic idea based on Monty Panesar, the only SIKH cricketer playing for England.
5. Gandhi To Hitler – Based on Hitler’s end and his last day marriage with the mysterious lady Eva Braun.
6. Not A Love Story – Inspired from a real-life incident of Mumbai involving an actress.
7. The Dirty Picture – Based on the real life story of South Sex Siren Silk Smita.
8. Kya Yahi Sach Hai – Its a film based on a book with the title “Carnage by Angels” by an I.P.S. Officer Mr. Y. P. Singh written on his personal experiences who himself directed the onscreen adaptation.
9. Rockstar – Loosely inspired from the life of real life Rockstar Jim Morrison & its female lead character again reminded of ‘Geet’ from director’s last film “Jab We Met”.
Movies based on Literature (Books/Novels)
1. 7 Khoon Maaf - Based on “Susanna's Seven Husbands” by Ruskin Bond.
2. Kashmakash - Based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore, called “Nauka Dubi”.
(Note: It would be great if you can give some info about any other inspired movie which came in 2011 but is not listed here by chance.)
