Remade in Kollywood

Copycat

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, there was a trend, or tendency, in Tamil cinema to remake successful Malayalam movies. Muthu (Thenmavin Kombathu), Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (Aniyathipravu) and Chandramukhi (Manichitra Thazhu) were a few blockbusters in Kollywood at that time, which had their originals in neighbouring Mollywood.

Now it seems the trend is revisiting Tamil cinema, as a string of recent and upcoming films are inspired by Malayalam movies. Chennaiyil Oru Naal, which is currently running successfully across Tamil Nadu, is a remake of the Mollywood flick Traffic.
Prakashraj’s directorial venture, titled Un Samayal Araiyil, is a take off from Salt and Pepper, another Malayalam hit, while attempts are on to ‘Tamilise’ films such as Ordinary, etc.

Reasons behind remake

Sarathkumar, one of the producers of Chennaiyil Oru Naal, says, “When we watched Traffic, we were really touched, and hence decided to remake the movie in Tamil. But if you ask me whether the trend of remaking Malayalam films has emerged in Tamil industry, I wish I had an answer.”

The popular actor, who is of late acting in Malayalam movies too, says, “Language should not be a barrier for artistes. For me, I will do a film in any language, provided I get a good role. In Malayalam cinema, many talented filmmakers are coming up with great movies. There is nothing wrong in remaking them in Tamil, as the audiences in Tamil Nadu are always ready to watch good movies.”

Prakashraj says, “The moment I watched Salt and Pepper, I expressed my desire to remake the movie. It has such a nice script portrayed in a beautiful way. I am going to make the movie in Tamil as Un Samayal Araiyil, and in Telugu as Ulavacharu Biriyani. And I am sure people would love to watch such movies.”

An aspiring director who doesn’t want his name to be quoted says, “Writers are hardly given due importance in Kollywood, whereas scriptwriters play a major role in Malayalam movies. Hence, most of their films are well-written. Also, in the recent past, there have been films in Malayalam with stories that have a universal appeal. The theme would fit to any language or culture. This is the reason behind remaking Malayalam movies in Tamil.”

He also accepts that Tamil cinema is moving away from hero-centric to script-centric. “A change is taking place slowly. Success of films such as Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu and Aadukalam has proved that the audience can encourage script-driven movies.”

Meanwhile, trade sources feel that the risk is less while remaking movies which were already successful in a different language. “Since there is no need to fear much about the success factor, remakes are considered as safe bets. Remember, cinema is like a gamble, and crores of rupees are needed to make a film. So it is safe to avoid risks,” says a distributor from southern Tamil Nadu.

However, ‘Jayam’ Raja, who has directed a string of remakes says, “Doing a remake is never easy. There will be comparisons. Hence we have to give our best to ensure the new version looks fresh.”

In the meantime, while a section of Kollywood is going behind Malayalam movies, many Tamil movies are having a straight release in Kerala and witnessing a good run. Especially films starring Vijay and Arya are expected big in ‘God’s own Country’, say sources there.

In an interesting development, Vijay’s upcoming film, Jilla, is said to be simultaneously made in Tamil and Malayalam. It is to be noted that the movie has top Malayalam star Mohanlal in a crucial role.