Copycats!

Article Updated 26 May, 2005 12:16:06 PM IST

Copycats!

Phoren maal ka chaska! We want their clothes, cars, perfumes... and films too! Creativity in Bollywood has gone for a toss. Take a Hollywood plot, add some glycerin drama and term it as emotions, sprinkle in pelvic-n-pectoral gyrations, change the middle only slightly and the end a bit more (thereby spoil it, more often than not). Shake well, and you've got a Bollywood movie propagated as 'hatke'!

Despite the string of cold turkeys at the turnstiles, there's a whole school of thought upholding remakes. 'Trust the process of reverse engineering (remaking a film, especially a Hollywood one) rather than doing something indigenous', has become the mantra of Bollywood. Are we becoming clones of Hollywood? Why then do some bigwigs of our film industry squirm when labeled as members of Bollywood?

A large chunk of Hindi films have taken off (read 'lifted') from Angrezi flicks, films like 'Ghulam' ('On The Waterfront') 'Raaz' ('What Lies Beneath'), 'Kasoor' ('The Jagged Edge'), 'Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai' ('My Best Friend's Wedding'), 'Kaante' ('Reservoir Dogs' & 'The Usual Suspect'), 'Awara Paagal Deewana' ('The Whole Nine Yards'), 'Qayamat' ('The Rock'), 'Murder' ('Unfaithful'), 'Aitraaz' ('Disclosure')... The list is long and getting longer...

After the Ajay Devgan-Esha Deol-Sushmita Sen starrer 'Main Aisa Hi Hoon', whose conceiving genes unarguably lay in 'I Am Sam', we last had Urmila Matondkar-Anuj Sawhney starrer 'Naina', which released on May 20th, very similar to the Japanese horror film 'The Eye'. Put aside seeing the movie, the promos and posters are a clear indication, proving the burden of proof.

'Naina' is about a girl who loses her eyesight and her parents in a freak accident in London. Twenty years later, a corneal implant restores her sight. Thereafter, she starts seeing a new horrifying world unknown to mankind and her normal life is thrown completely out of gear.

The cast and the crew are holding their cards close to their chest. Naturally.

Lead actor of 'Naina', Anuj Sawhney defends, expectedly, "I have read the book 'The Eye'. Few references might be drawn. The basic essence is the same, but the treatment is completely different. I am not playing Bruce Philips. Like Bruce, I take the girl through her journey after the cornea implant, but like Bruce I am not the ghost," he claims. Now that's what we meant when we said that 'change the end'!

Claims Urmila Matondkar, "I have no clue. I have not seen 'The Eye'. So I can't take a call. From all the movies I have seen in my life, 'Naina' does not come close to any of them in content and style."

Producer Shripal Morakhia says, "I have not seen 'The Eye'. The DNA of 'Naina' and 'The Eye' may be the same, but 'Naina' is not the same as 'The Eye'." Thank God he didn't say, 'as different as chalk is from cheese'!

He continues, "Unlike 'The Eye', my film spreads across two continents - Europe and Asia." Pray Morakhia, how does it matter if the venue of shooting is different?

"After Urmila regains her eyesight, the entire film is different. The issues Urmila has to deal with once she regains her sight, the way Anuj brings her to India and how it creates a spiritual awareness in her is completely original" he says, adding, "The verdict will be out in a few days from now. To the best of my knowledge, I have not made the Hindi version of 'The Eye'."

Morakhia does not even fear that objections may be raised against his film because it has been selected for the Cannes and lacks originality. "I have sold my film in four territories and am very glad that all those who have seen it are appreciating it."

But Tom Cruise has bought the rights of 'The Eye'. What about that? Don't they fear trouble? "I have nothing to fear. There is no question of a Tom Cruise problem. In fact, my goal is a mainstream release to this film in the US market. And I will achieve it. 'Naina' is an original film," he asserts.

Is the copying misdemeanor growing in Bollywood because there is a dearth of talented writers in the industry, which stems from the fact that writers are not paid sufficiently enough?

Or should we blame the idiot box? Hollywood flicks are available at the flick of a switch for the storytellers.

Remember the Bradford court case against the Sahara TV serial Karishma - The Miracles Of Destiny? One thought that thereafter, our filmmakers would tax their gray area and think twice before taking the short escape route. On second thought, we know why it didn't happen. Filmmakers know that they are shielded by the lumbering Indian legal system, which sucks, demanding a helluva amount of time and extracting loads of effort and finance.

It is plagiarism of some kind! Let alone experienced film buffs and experts, even housewives and students can often track down almost every Hindi flick to at least one Hollywood film. And no, they aren't buying the fact that all similarities are purely coincidental. Neither are we! We have not lost our naina!

Let us know what you think about the originality in Bollywood by clicking on the 'FEEDBACK' link below

Print this Article

http://www.bollyvista.com

http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/34/4928