Play it again, Bollywood

New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) The Hindi film industry has been remaking films for eons. But plundering its own back catalogue of classic films and unleashing two remakes - "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag" and "Victoria No. 203" - on the same day will be a first even for Bollywood.

The much hyped "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag" and "Victoria No. 203" are reportedly set to clash on the marquees on Friday. Varma's film has been much in news as the director has chosen to base his fable on Indian cinema's most widely appreciated film "Sholay".

From the unforgiving terrains of the Chambal valley, Varma has transported the original "Sholay", which was an Indian version of a Western cowboy tale, to the city.

The film has been creating a buzz from the word go and its stylised promos. It will get off to a good start given the curiosity to watch Amitabh Bachchan reinterpret the role of Gabbar, which was immortalised by Amjad Khan, as Babban.

According to reports, the film is expected to garner the highest opening for any Varma film. And in B centres people are mistaking it to be a soft porn flick and are expected to flock for the opening.

Varma's movies have always been in the vortex of controversies though he has a steady fan following carved by remaking his Tamil movie "Shiva".

"Victoria No. 203" is director Kamal Sadana's take on his father's most successful work by the same name.

Whether these films are truly remakes or adaptations could be argued long and hard, but the end result is still the same; it's Bollywood finding inspiration from itself.

Is this a problem?

Many argue that historically, stories, myths and legends have survived because they have been retold, or remade. Even ancient Greek myths were adopted and retold by the Romans and, later, medieval and Renaissance writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare retold or added elements to classic Greek myths - the Troilus and Cressida story does not come from Homer's Iliad.

Folktales, fairytales and legends continued to morph, often to suit the culture that was adopting them. The legends of King Arthur are a good example, with various versions of the stories over the centuries; even today, a recent film "King Arthur" purports to tell the "real" story behind the legend.

In many ways, nothing has changed, except the medium being used. It's not unusual when new media are established for classic myths and stories to be retold, or adapted to the new form, whether it is literature, theatre, photography, film or television.

When cinema found its feet early last century, this is exactly what happened. And since then the cinema has taken those same stories, and its own, and remade them and refashioned them during the past 100 years.

Last year, Farhan Akhtar's highly publicised and commercially successful remake of "Don" with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead had pretty much a dynamo effect. Remakes of old classics and cult movies have been pouring since. But these big screen outings have had mixed results.

While "Umrao Jaan" starring Aishwarya Rai in the title role was a no show, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's "Parineeta" - a remake of an old classic of the same name - brought back memories of good cinema.

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The Sippy family may not be happy with Ram Gopal Varma's decision to remake "Sholay" but that has not deterred them from announcing the remake of "Satte Pe Satta".

Veteran filmmaker Raj N. Sippy is all set to modernise his milestone comedy with a 2007 adaptation, news reports say.

"It's called 'Seven' and will be a musical. It will not be an exact remake of my original version. Instead of seven brothers, the revamped version will have three sisters and four brothers," said Sippy.

"In today's scenario, I don't think I can make Amitabh Bachchan play a double role all over again. Ideally, Sanjay Dutt would be the first choice as the 40-plus, happy-go-lucky bachelor. I already have a rapport with him, having directed him in 'Thanedaar' (1990)," he added.

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A not-so-old movie, "Karz" by Subhash Ghai is to be remade by T-series, which will star Himesh Resahmmiya in a lead role. The director of the new "Karz" is still being decided since Ghai refused to direct or produce again his own directed movies, say reports.

"How can I remake on my own scripts when I am as today full of new ideas and concepts time ahead...but I am sure 'Karz' will be welcomed by the new generation with new kind of making. I wish Himesh and Bhushan of T-series my best," said Ghai.

Other remakes in the pipeline are Rituparno Ghosh's "Rahgeer", a remake of Dev Anand-starrer "Guide", Feroz Khan's "Qurbani" and Sudhir Mishra is set to do a remake of his own thriller "Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin" in English.

It seems the season of remakes is not going to be over yet.

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Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag