Hindi Chandramukhi
After being remade in Kannada as Aptamitra and in Tamil as Chandramukhi, Fazil's Malayalam classic Manichithrathaazhu will soon grace screens in its Hindi avatar - Bhool Bhulaiya. Akshay Kumar takes on the role played by Mohanlal/Vishnu Vardhan/Rajnikanth while Vidya Balan(of Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai fame) has the all-important role played by Shobana/Soundarya/Jyothika. Among other roles, Shiny Ahuja plays Vidya Balan's husband(the role played by Suresh Gopi/Ramesh Arvind/Prabhu) while Amisha Patel plays the maid(the role played by Nayantara in Chandramukhi). The film is being directed by Priyadarshan, who has fashioned his career in languages other than Malayalam by remaking old Malayalam films. Above is a trailer[link - thanks Akshay Shah] for the film.
Priyadarshan directed some of Malayalam cinema's best comedies like Chitram, Kilukkam and Vandhanam and so its no wonder that he stuck to the same genre after his move to Hindi. He's been quite prolific in Hindi and while many of his earlier movies became hits, his success rate hasn't been that impressive of late. His latest film Dhol came out a couple of weeks ago and was labelled by Baradwaj Rangan as one of his worst ever comedies. Based purely on the trailer, Bhool Bhulaiya also seems to have a heavier accent on comedy also and that doesn't give me a good feeling.
Manichitrathaazhu was a true classic with great atmosphere, genuine suspense and top-class performances. It underwent a hero-centric transformation in Chandramukhi as the central story was almost buried under Rajnikanth's heroism and Vadivelu's comedy (I didn't see Aptamitra but the fact that it was directed by P.Vasu doesn't inspire much confidence). And now it is going to get transformed once again into, apparently, a comedy. This might just be the first time I actually feel sorry for a movie!
Balaji's Thots... [Permalink]
Your Thots (15)
thinkers since May 11, 2005
15 Comments:
Strangely, Balaji, I expect more from this one, ( not going by this promo i.e.), because Priyan has made some genuine films which were not entirely comedies, like Snegithiye, like Kaalapaani etc. Also, Priyan assisted Fazil, during the making of Manichitrathaazhu, so we can expect something good, I guess.!
Srijith , Snegithiya is a copy of Marathi movie "Bindhaasth" .Back to the topic defn hindi version would be better than tamil and kannada bcoz of the director .
did you see manichithrathazhu with subs? i haven't been able to find a version with subtitles -- and thamizh therintha malayalam puriyum enru solrangal, ana enakku puriyavillai.
This is the climax scene of malayalam and kanada version of the original. found it on YouTube
malayalam:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GQca51FlQ0
kannada:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chztOCDRUak
I saw the trailer on B4u while @ my bros... Didn't feel too impressed. I suppose we wait for the movie to judge the whole thing? =)
when it comes to remakes, i look fwd to the work of some directors who sincerely try to reintrepret the script without copying it frame to frame...sometimes, i see them as spectacular misfires only for them to earn big bucks...e.g. i didnt like viraasat because though the change of setting didnt hurt much, the language and the brutality of the violence hit closer to home in Thamizh and the "jaadhi veri" thats on display in rural areas...
wonder how chandramukhi, vettayan and durga will fit into the hindi milieu! will wait and watch...
Priyadarshan has the knack of making good spoofs and maybe, just maybe, this film is a spoof of Chandramukhi and not a remake. If it indeed is just a spoof, then I am looking forward to it.
You may have mentioned it as a matter of fact but the way you mentioned Baradwaj Rangan labelling Dhol one of the worst Priyadarshan comedies, I am very inclined to point out to you.. Baradwaj Rangan is just another critic out there and not God!.. You may like his writing and his reviews, but he isn't an all encompassing expert that you make him sound to be! :-).. Sorry Balaji, I couldn't help but point this out, at least this time!.. (If you had written that you hadn't seen this film but read a review by Baradwaj Rangan that said this, I would've been less likely to criticize you for the same!.. But the way you've written it, you really have made Rangan look like the all-knowing of all movie critics!)..
BB, i will admit...i felt the same way as sandya did, abt the b rangan comment :-)
Iam sorry to say that Priyadarshan has lost his charm and classy film making styles. He use to be one of the best directors in the country when he had so many malayalam classics in his account.It is a sorry state to see him making two bit bollywood comedy crap.
BB,
(I didn't see Aptamitra but the fact that it was directed by P.Vasu doesn't inspire much confidence). LOL. terrific timing.
During the weekend I saw Thalapathi after an unnamed P.Vasu movie. The former was leaps and bounds better obviously :)
BTW, Did you catch u with new stills of Dasa @ behindwoods?
http://behindwoods.com/image-gallery-stills/photos-4/dasavatharam/dasavatharam-01.html
srijith, thats true. but those movies were a while ago and i don't think he has directed anything other than silly comedies in hindi. hence my doubts :)
balaji, lets hope so :)
anon, nope, the dvd i saw doesn't have subtitles either. and yeah, its pretty tough to understand if u dont know the language :)
merino, yes we should wait b4 we judge but where's the fun in that? :)
ram, true. they need to bring their own style and interpretation instead of just changing a few things to suit the tastes of viewers in the language they're doing the remake :)
sandya, spoof? i actually hope its not. 'manichithrathazhu' has been tainted 'nuf :)
sandya/ram, that was just an offhand comment since BR's was the only review i read about 'dhol' :)
ravi, my feelings exactly :)
srivatsan, even that comparison is an insult to 'thalapathi' (and manirathnam!) :)
Sandya and Ram, I respect your opinions with regards to BR's reviews, but count me as one of his ardent fans. Read his film dissections, see the sub text he mines from them,his nuanced arguments for and against it, as opposed to plot regurgitation masquerading as movie reviews which is pretty much the norm among most film critics,and you'll see why the man stands head and shoulders above his fellow flick pundits. And why there's a Best Critic National Award adorning his mantelpiece.
Good Lord, BB is Chandramukhi's remake? :O *shocked!
Why? I mean seriously. why? I didn't read the comments, but am I the only one thinking that this kind of story is sooo not for the Hindi audience.
My kdis and I are completely entertained with Akshay's antics on teh trailers, but can't imagine Vidya Balan doing kathak. Yikes! :(
Ram/Sandya rather below the belt shot. He is not GOD, yes but Baradwaj Rangan is the best Indian Film critic around, bar none.
Ofcourse, for someone who can appreciate a movie like Pookiri for its 'richness' - it must be difficult to appreciate the kind of nuanced, informed critique that BR specialises in - not to mention the lovely use of language and unmatched ability to vocalize his thoughts in the film criticism field.
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