The Rip Off Factory – Bollywood!! PART ONE

What counts in Bollywood is Time and money!! Writers under pressure from the directors/producers more often than not pick up a hollywood DVD, copy the script, filter out some stuff that might not be appropriate for the Indian public, throw in some songs and voila! We have a new movie. These rip-offs, obviously are mostly horrid. Here am writing about some that I have come across,

1. A FEW GOOD MEN = SHAURYA

A Few Good Men(1992), directed by Rob Reiner, and starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, and Demi Moore is a courtroom drama, the film revolves around the trial of two US Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine and the tribulations of their lawyer, Daniel Kaffee (Cruise), as he prepares a case to defend his clients.

Well, Shaurya(2008), directed by Samar Khan, starring Rahul Bose, Kay Kay Menon, Javed Jaffrey and Minissha Lamba is no different. Same courtroom drama with some deviations in the plot to introduce the religious conflict in Kashmir.  I would say worth a watch. Brilliant performances by KK Menon and Rahul Bose. Though the theme or rather the main plot is inspired, this movie still has its own merits.

2. COLLATERAL = THE KILLER

Collateral(2004), directed by Michael Mann, starring Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx and Jada Pinkett Smith is a is a crime thriller. Foxx plays a cab driver who finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer(Cruise) as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in LA. Jada is the last hit of the night and Foxx tries to save himself and her. Cruise is brilliant as the bad guy, Foxx pretty good too as an average bloke.

The Killer(2006), Same story, this time though, the girl is a bar dancer and our hero(Mr. Hashmi) is already in love with her. Perfect opportunity for some song and dance routines. Irfan is cool and composed. The movie is pathetic to say the least.

3. DERAILED = THE TRAIN

Derailed(2005), directed by Mikael Håfström,  starring Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, Addison Timlin, Giancarlo Esposito, RZA and Xzibit is a thriller. Owen falls for a young executive and the two decide to have a casual ‘meeting’ at a hotel. Things turn ugly as they are robbed at gun point while in the room and Aniston is raped. The gangsters then start blackmailing the two. It’s now upto Owen to get out of the mess and while trying to do so, he learns nothing is what it seems!!

The Train(2007), is a hopeless copy, heck, even  the poster seems copied!! It is directed by the duo of Hasnain Hyderabadwala & Raksha Mistry. And Stars Emraan Hashmi, Geeta Basra and Sayali Bhagat in lead roles.

4. JOHN Q = TATHASTU

John Q(2002) is directed by Nick Cassavetes and stars Denzel Washington,  Kimberly Elise, Anne Heche, James Woods, Ray Liotta, Eddie Griffin and Robert Duvall. John Quincy Archibald, is facing tough times financially and it gets only worse when his son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart. Later he finds out that his son cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, as a last resort to save his son’s life, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the surgery is performed. Washington is amazing in this one, as is expected of him. The scenes between father and son are very touching and are written superbly. They will linger on even after the movie is over, for sometime.

Tathastu(2006), hmmm, directed by Anubhav Sinha and stars Sanjay Dutt, Amisha Patel & Jayaprada. Same story again. Amisha Patel as a factory worker’s wife is ooh sooo NOT believable. Performance wise, a little bit overdone at places but Sanju baba does a good job. Rest of the cast is pure ordinary.

5. MAN ON FIRE = EK AJNABEE

Man on Fire(2004) is directed by Tony Scott and stars Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Radha Mitchell, Giancarlo Giannini, Marc Anthony, Mickey Rourke and Christopher Walken. It’s an action thriller film about an ex-CIA operative/assassin-turned-bodyguard who takes revenge on a Mexican gang that kidnaps the child he was hired to protect.

Ek Ajnabee(2005) has the same story. Not much deviations. It is directed by Apoorva Laakhia and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal, Perizaad Zorabian, Rucha Vaidya, Vikram Chatwal.

6. MEMENTO = GHAJINI

Memento(2000) is a psychological thriller film directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, in search of the man he believes raped and killed his wife during a burglary. Leonard has anterograde amnesia, which he developed as a result of the severe head trauma during the burglary. This renders his brain unable to store new memories. To cope with his condition, he maintains a system of notes, photographs, and tattoos to record information about himself and others, including his wife’s killer. He is aided in his investigation by Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) and Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss), neither of whom he can trust.

Ghajini(2008) is directed by AR Murugadoss and stars Aamir Khan, Asin Thottumkal, Jiah Khan, Pradeep Rawat and Riyaz Khan. The movie is about a rich businessman who develops anterograde amnesia following a violent encounter in which his love interest, Kalpana, is killed. He tries to avenge the killing with the aid of photographs, notes and tattoos. Seems a rip-off? It is. But then, its quite watchable. Aamir is his usual self, a brilliant performer.

7. MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING = MERE YAAR KI SHAADI HAI

My Best Friend’s Wedding(1997) is a  romantic comedy film directed by P. J. Hogan. It stars Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney, Rupert Everett and Rachel Griffiths. Roberts is in loves with her best friend Dermot but realises only when hes getting married. She then devises and executes an elaborate plan to stop this wedding so that she gets him back. A master comedy and great fun to watch. All have acted quite well.

Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai(2002) is directed by Sanjay Ghadvi and stars Uday Chopra, Jimmy Shergill, Tulip Joshi and Bipasha Basu. The plot is exactly the same, though the characters are interchanged. Like while in MBFW it’s a girl trying to break his male friend’s wedding. Here, its a man trying to break his female friend’s wedding. Long standing favorite theme for bollywood, Ek phool do maali. A fun watch, not anything outstanding but on a lazy sunday afternoon, can be given a try. No re-watch though. Tulip Joshi is dissappointing, while the rest of the cast is average to good.

8. MY SASSY GIRL = UGLY AUR PAGLI

My Sassy Girl(2008) is directed by Yann Samuell and stars Jesse Bradford and Elisha Cuthbert. Even the hollywood version is a remake of the Korean flick by the same name. It’s the story of a nice guy who falls for a Helion. Jesse Bradford brings his Midwestern sensibilities with him to New York and hasn’t been tainted yet by big city life. When he sees a drunken girl passed out in the subway station he tries to take care of her and ends up in jail for his trouble. Things don’t get much easier for him even in his future dealings with Elisha Cuthbert, as she’ll call him out of the blue with random instructions and demands that he feels compelled to obey and regrets almost as soon as it’s finished. She is erratic – at one moment, carefree and downing vodka shots and then crying the next for no apparent reason.

Ugly Aur Pagli(2008) stars Ranvir Shorey and Mallika Sherawat and is directed by Sachin Khot. Story is identical. Only worthwhile thing in the movie is Ranbir’s performance as the ‘harrased’ mumbai engineering student.

9. NICK OF TIME = BAADSHAH

Nick of Time(1995) stars Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Charles S. Dutton and Courtney Chase, and is directed by John Badham. Johnny’s daughter is kidnapped and he is then asked to assassinate a governor to get her back. He tries to foil the plan by revealing it to several key persons around the governer every now and then, but is shocked to learn that almost everyone is involved in the conspiracy.

Baadshah(1999), stars Shahrukh Khan and Twinkle Khanna and is directed by the duo of Abbas-Mustan. It’s not a complete rip-off, but the critical points of the plot are directly lifted from Nick Of Time and some stunts from Rush Hour, they have even tried to give it a flavour of James Bond (gadgets, custom made car and stuff!!!). Crappy jokes is what comedy in this one is all about. Shahrukh Khan as usual, is all pumped up and has graciously over acted most of his scenes. Twinkle Khanna, the least said the better it is. Thank god she retired in time. Rest of the cast is strictly ordinary.

10. OLDBOY = ZINDA

Oldboy(2003) is a South Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook. The film follows the story of one Oh Dae-Su, who is locked in a hotel room for 15 years without knowing his captor’s motives. When he is finally released, Dae Su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and violence. His own quest for vengeance becomes tied in with romance when he falls for an attractive sushi chef. Revealing more would spoil the movie’s appeal. The action scenes are the highlight of this flick, with all the gore and blood, it might not appeal to everyone but it sure it cinematic excellence. Must watch if you are okay with the subtitles(it’s in korean, remember?)

Zinda(2006) stars Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham and Lara Dutta. While the plot is same, somethings are little tweaked to suit the Indian sentiments. The Chef is replaced by a Taxi driver. Overall feel or rather the mood of this is quite similar to the original. Thumbs up to Sanjay Gupta for that. A very different kind of bollywood movie, even though copied. Sanjay is exceptionally well and John too plays his part with finesse. Though he(Johm) has grown over the years as an actor, this will remain as one of his bests. The girls are best forgotten. Worth a watch.

11. PREDATOR = AGYAAT

Predator(1987) is a science fiction, action and horror film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. The story follows an elite team on a mission to rescue hostages from a guerrilla group in Central America. Unknowingly, the group is hunted by an extraterrestrial lifeform. This alien has the capability to remain invisible and can view things only in Infra-red spectrum. While everyone else is killed, Arnie manages to fight the monster and even kill it. The fear of the unknown lingers over you all the time untill the alien is actually revealed. Acting wise, nothing worth mention.

Agyaat(2009) is from the RGV factory starring Nitin Kumar Reddy,Gautam Rode, Priyanka Kothari, Ravi Kale, Ishrat Ali, Harvey Rosemeyer, Kali Prasad Mukherjee, Rasika Duggal, Joy Fernandes and Ishteyak. Plot is heavily influenced by Predator. A film unit goes deep into the jungle for a shoot and soon they are hunted down one by one by unknown forces. These forces remain a mystery throughout the movie and are never revealed, even for one shot. Surely a dud. Not to be watched at all. FULL REVIEW

12. THE EXORCIST = 1920, PHOONK, VAASTU SHASTRA

Now, this is a big one.

Ok, so we all know about The Exorcist. Its about a girl whose ‘possessed’  by evil. Fathers try an perform exorcism to save the little girl. Good movie, has its moments, scary ones at that. But seriously, can’t say its THE scariest movie of all times.

Now the rip-offs, Lets start with 1920, Haunted mansion, ignorant occupants, strange occurances et all. The girl is possessed and this part of the movie feels like a scene by scene rip off. The inspiration is not just limited to the exorcist, there are scenes which are similar to Exorcist 4 – The beginning! BUT, I have to tell you this movie will not dissappoint you. Though the plot might not be *original*, the way its handled and shot more than makes up for it. One of the better horror movies bollywood has produced! And the girl is simply marvellous, good performance.

Next in line, Phoonk. Its from RGV factory. And for me atleast RGV= Crap. So then that should be it. Doesn’t dissappoint you. It is just that, crap. A shameless copy of the Exorcist in the pretext of “kala jadoo”. The “crow” bits seem lifted off Omen 2. Shhheeessh!! I don’t know if its careful planning or not, but even the kid is the same from Vaastu Shastra. Similar role here too! More reduced work for the director. The *bad* lady is especially retarded! She is just too too damn pumped up all the while, a li’l bit of restraint would have worked fine. Don’t bother with this one.

Finally, Vaastu Shastra. A family moves into a Villa in the the woods, secluded. Little do they know theres *something* lurking in the dark. What follows is strange occurrences and even death. Though, the initial bit of the plot seems original enough, later it turns into the same story of  possession. Towards the end, scenes are lifted from the resident evil too. Its not a blatant rip-off at least. Watchable flick. Sushmita is very good and only proves her mettle as an actor.

13. THE IN-LAWS = WELCOME

This might not be a direct lift but theres a hell lot of similarities between the two.

The In-Laws(2003) is a comedy starring Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Candice Bergen and Ryan Reynolds. Michael Douglas, is an undercover CIA agent whose son, Ryan Reynolds, is getting married to Lindsay Sloane. Her father is mild-mannered foot doctor, Albert Brooks. When the two families meet for dinner, Albert stumbles on to Douglas’ secret operation. As Albert’s incidental involvement increases, he is suspected by the FBI of being a part of a bigger malicious deal. Dragged kicking and screaming, Albert decides he doesn’t want to be involved in the deal or with Tobias’ family. The two fathers-in-law end up dodging bullets, jumping off buildings, and stealing jets together as they attempt to avoid capture by FBI.

Welcome(2007)  is directed by Anees Bazmee and stars Akshay Kumar, Feroz Khan, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Malika Sherawat and Paresh Rawal. Plot is loosely inspired from the former. Katrina is the sister of biggest goons of the town and no one is ready to marry her. A misunderstanding sees Paresh Rawal agreeing to marry his nephew Akshay to Katrina. But, as soon as he learns the truth, he wants this wedding off but is dead scared of the dons to clearly state this. So while he is trying to figure out a way to cancel this marriage, Akshay is trying to win Katrina’s heart, unaware shes the sister of Dons. What follows is absolute mayhem!! All have performed quite brilliantly but I feel Akshay is getting too repetitive with doing the same kind of comedy over and over again. A fun watch, switch off your brains though, before turning this on!!

14. THE WEDDING DATE = AAP KI KHATIR

The Wedding Date(2005) is a romantic comedy directed by Clare Kilner, and stars Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, Amy Adams, Jeremy Sheffield & Jack Davenport. Debra lives in New York who needs to return to her parents’ house in London for her younger sister’s wedding. She is dismayed to come across her former fiance, who dumped her 2 yrs ago. She hires a debonair male escort (Dermot Mulroney) to pose as her boyfriend to make her ex jealous. But her plan backfires when Dermot convinces everyone, including her, that they are madly in love. Some buried secrets are revealed along the way but eventually everybody is happy. Though not the best of the plots, the movie still is a fun watch. Dermot is absolute fab as a male escort. Debra is equally impressive.

Aap Ki Khatir(2006) directed by Dharmesh Darshan and starring Akshay Khanna, Priyanka Chopra, Dino Morea & Amisha Patel is a shameless scene by scene rip off!! Some details are carefully omitted to be acceptable in India but overall, doesn’t hold a candle to the original. Akshay and Priyanka are still somewhat believable in their respective roles, Amisha and Dino are absolutely dreadful!! And Amisha’s dresses, aagghh!! Never mind,couple all the above with the sultan of nasal strings, Himesh, this is one movie you SHOULD give a pass.

15. THE WHOLE NINE YARDS = AWARA PAGAL DEEWANA

The Whole Nine Yards(2000) is a Mafia comedy starring Matthew Perry, Bruce Willis, Amanda Peet, Natasha Henstridge, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kevin Pollak and Rosanna Arquette. Matthew Perry is an overworked, depressed dentist with an overtly dominating wife and mom-in-law. A hitman(Bruce) arrives in the locality and the dentist soon discovers his true profession. Bruce is actually hiding from a chicago criminal family against whom he had testified in court. The wifey also learns the identity of the hitman and then presses Mathew to travel to Chicago to let this family know about the hitman and collect the reward money!! The movie drags at places but is overall fun. Bruce Willis handles the comical scenes quite well. Actually he doesn’t have to exert too much, Perry takes the cake here, awesome performance!!

Awara Pagal Deewana(2002) is a comedy, action flick directed by Vikram Bhatt starring Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Aftab, Amrita Arora, Aarti Chabaria, Preeti Jhangiani & Johnny Lever. Story is the same, a few more stunts, some added songs, uninspiring humor and secret love affairs make this movie a tasteless khichdi. Best left untouched.

16. WHAT LIES BENEATH = RAAZ

What Lies Beneath (2000) is a supernatural thriller by director Robert Zemeckis. It tells the story of a housewife who finds her home is haunted. The film stars Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as Norman and Claire Spencer. The source of the hauting is burried deep into the past of her husband. Scary at places, mostly the film moves at a steady pace. Acting wise Ford has done a good job but the star of the show is clearly Michelle!! Though not for the hardcore fans of horror genre, it’ll be a good wach nevertheless.

Raaz(2002) is directed by Vikram Bhatt and stars Bipasha Basu, Dino Morea. Same plot, some added songs and thats it. Though Bipasha got a filmfare for this one, I think we have seen better from her, now. Dino is as good as a dinning table.

I’ll keep updating the list as I come across more. You can also add in the comments that I have missed, I know there are a whole lot more out there, this is just the tip of the iceberg!! ;D

UPDATE: Here is the complete list uptil now. Will keep adding more with time.

Emraan Hashmi	…	Vishal Dixit
	Geeta Basra	…	Roma Ram Kapoor / Richa Malhotra
	Rajat Bedi	…	Special Investigating Officer Asif Ahmed Khan
	Anant Mahadevan	…	Sudhir (as Ananth Mahadevan)
	Ashok Beniwal		(as Ashok Benewal)
	Sukhwinder
	Asseem Merchant	…	Tony
	Sayali Bhagat	…