Worst remakes of Tamil movies

Billa(Telugu)

Why Prabhas and Krishnam Raju did not(or could not) simply hire Vishnuvardhan is just beyond me. Boasting super hit songs, a huge budget and sizzling chemistry between the leads, this film could have been anything else. The tone and the execution of Don and Billa were just eons above this Telugu version. Prabhas trying the ‘oh I ve lost my mind’ skits were just cringe.

‘Cut out choosi maatram yela darlingu? yelaaa?’

Kotigobba(Kannada)

It didn’t work. That is all. It just didn’t work. Baasha was a pinnacle for Rajni himself and that is saying something. It was a near-perfect movie where everything just fell into place. This film was like buying ‘ABIDAS’ and calling it ‘ADIDAS’.

Punda (Kannada)

Yep, I actually wrote the title, cause it obviously doesn’t mean what is does in Tamil. Dhanush-Vetrimaaran films are usually not just about what is there on paper. The duo work magic when it comes to presenting it visually.

But why all that. This one sucked donkey balls. Plain and simple.

Lakshmi Narasimha (Telugu)

When Vikram flexes his arms in Saamy by clutching the back of his neck, you can actually notice the size of those guns. He also makes it seem like a habit. Balakrishna doing that looked like he was undergoing physiotherapy after dislocating a shoulder. Not a great start to the film.

When Babai jumped on the front of the jeep, I thought he was going to say his posting was as IG. When he said ‘DC', I kind of understood his frustration on his promotions being delayed for like 45 years.

Policegiri(hindi)

Sanjay Dutt at 54, playing a role that Vikram played when he was 37. What could possibly go wrong? KS Ravikumar should have stayed away from this one.

Dum(hindi)

Made from Dhil which was Dharani in his top form, Dum is a classic example of taking something simple and ruining it with hype. Dharani himself funnily quipped, ‘first I was unhappy they didn't credit me for the story.Now I am happy they didn't'. Ouch.

Geddam gang(Telugu)

Yov Rajasekhar, why this kolaveri da? Soodhu kavvum is a highly protected masterpiece and is often lauded as of the best black comedies in Indian cinema history. Why would you even attempt to recreate magic like that?

Ennamo po da maadhava.

Speedunnodu (Telugu)

Babu Bellam, speed koncham thaggichukko maa. Bro dude, why Sundarapandian of all the movies? How does one look at a movie like that and think ‘OMG a money-spinner?’ It is a simple, rustic village story made on a teeny budget to be sold with an eye on B and C centers. Add glittery shit like item numbers and all sense go out the window.

I mean, I am not strictly against dressing Tammu darling like this. But still.

Run(Hindi)

Run cannot be quite called a bad remake, but the moment they cast Abhishek in the role that R Madhavan did, they lost the plot. ‘Run’ did great numbers in the Kollywood BO mainly because it was the first time the audiences saw Maddy as an action star(that also being the surprise element) and Vidyasagar’s music. Swap that out for Jr Bachchan and Himesh… meh.

Adyaksha (Kannada)

Sharan(shebaaaaa) was 42 when this film was made while Sivakarthikeyan was 28 when Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam was released. Just so you know, the film is about a carefree youngster and his beef with a popular village head. Contrary to what you think, Sharan didn’t look 42. He looked 50.

Raj Vishnu(Kannada)

Same guy. Same situation. Same ending. Only this time they went after Rajini Murugan.

Enaku ne varuveengala da?

Goree(Sinhala)

While thalapathy and thala fans fight it out fiercely in India, A Srilankan film silently copied Theri and Vedalam. Why ruin one movie when you can do double penetration?

Ore oru padam thaan motha thala-thapathy fans um close.

Baaghi3(hindi)

Dei, a small movie about a small time port gangster who is challenged by two brothers, one of whom tranaforms from a coward to a hero. Ivlo thaan da. Idhula international travel, terrorism, oru roja -style subplot. Yenda? Ennala mudiyala da.

Idhu Vettai remake apdinu nee solli thaan da enaku theriyum.

Tere Naam(Hindi)

People get reminded that Sallu bhai is an actor now n then only because he is intoduced as ‘Actor’ Salman Khan and slightly because it says Salman Khan(actor) in news reels about people being run over. At this rate, he thought it was a good idea to remake a Bala masterpiece.

Why the hell not?

Jackson(Kannada)

It was Vijay who did the movie in Kannada. Vijay Sethupathi nu ninaicheengala? Duniya Vijay. Yep. The guy in the poster. He did the role of ‘Sumaar moonji Kumaru’. Unlike Tamil, they didnt have to specify this in Kannada. But they do know that it literally doesn’t mean that right? It was supposed to be a joke to call VJS sumaar moonji.

Dei engala vachu comedy keemedy edhuvum pannaliye?

There are numerous movies that were tolled mercilessly by Tamil meme creators. But funnily enough, most of them were actually remakes in Tamil(Kavalan, Perazhagan, Chandramukhi) or were modified heavily to suit the target audience.

I have left out loads of fairly earnest attempts to recreate the original (Varalaru, 96, Kalavaani, Amarkalam, Singam). Most of these movies just wanted to take short cuts to success by reusing what already worked.