Second time lucky: Tollywood's run with remakes in 2016

For Tollywood, 2016 was the year of the remake. With a number of films adapted from other languages, spanning a variety of genres from action to comedy to dramas, a few remakes even managed to outdo the originals in various ways.

This year Tollywood was full of different range of movies, from the experimental subjects to the family entertainers, action thrillers and romantic comedy films. However, 2016 year has been a remake season for Tollywood.

Here’s a list of 2016’s major remakes in Telugu, the superhits, the hits and the notable misses:

Dhruva

Telugu actor Ram Charan’s Dhruva hit theatres on December 9 and scored strong despite the post-demonetisation cash crunch, collecting over Rs 50 crore at the worldwide box office. The movie is an official remake of the Tamil film Thani Oruvan which came out in 2015.

Thani Oruvan was reported to be one of the biggest hits of 2015, with worldwide collections reportedly crossing Rs 105 crore. The film grossed over Rs 50 crore in the first 10 days alone.

Dhruva featured Ram Charan, Arvind Swami and Rakul Preet Singh and told the story of an IPS officer who plans to eradicate crime in the city of Hyderabad by going after the big bosses pulling strings from behind the scene.

There was a lot of buzz about the work Ram Charan had put into sculpting himself for the role. But the Telugu version surpassed the Tamil one because of better editing and direction.

Premam

The Telugu remake of the highly successful 2015 original of the same name saw Naga Chaitanya reprising the role played by Malayalam heartthrob Nivin Pauly. Joining him in the cast were Shruti Haasan, Madonna Sebastian, and Anupama Parameswaran.

The Malayalam original released in May 2015 was a box office hit, grossing over Rs 60 crore in its first 50 days. While reviewers said that the Telugu remake had failed to capture the natural flair of the Malayalam film, the remake had something new to offer viewers in terms of some changes to the film’s script. Telugu audiences also responded well to Shruti Haasan’s portrayal of the lead character, Malar.

Oopiri

Oopiri, featuring Akkineni Nagarjuna, Karthi, and Tamannaah, was a remake of the 2011 French comedy-drama, The Intouchables.  

It tells the story of a quadriplegic billionaire (Nagarjuna) and his relationship with a paroled petty criminal (Karthi), who becomes his caretaker.

With quite a few changes to the script to adapt it for Indian audiences, the film, which hit theatres on March 24, 2016, had quite a strong run at the box office.

With a reportedly strong opening at the US box office, the film, together with its Tamil version Thozha grossed over Rs 20 crore in the first four days of release.

Run

(Image credit: Facebook/RunTelugu)

A remake of the 2013 Malayalam film Neram, the Telugu movie Run featured Sundeep Kishan and Anisha Ambrose. Releasing on 23 March 2016, the film had reportedly reportedly undergone changes in the screenplay to add commercial elements specifically for the local Telugu audience.

The thriller tells the tale of a computer engineer who loses his job in a US-based company and is sunk in debt. While Neram was a moderate hit, with collections of Rs 81 lakh from 73 screens in its opening weekend in Kerala, the Telugu film failed to make a mark with Telugu audiences. 

Naruda Donoruda

A remake of the Hindi film Vicky Donor, starring Ayushmann Khurana, Naruda Donoruda released on November 4, 2016. The Mallik Ram-directed film, about sperm donation and infertility was expected to make a big splash, considering that Vicky Donor pulled in almost Rs 13.5 crore in its first week alone.

However, the Telugu version starring Sumanth, Pallavi Subhash, and Tanikella Bharani was given the thumbs down by reviewers for its inability to keep the scripting as fresh as  the original, and for the bland performances of the cast when compared to the Hindi film. Audiences seemed to agree with reviewers, with the film only garnering average collections at the box office.

Tuntari

(Image credit: Facebook/TuntariMovie)

The Telugu comedy starring Nara Rohit and Latha Hegde is an official remake of the Tamil blockbuster film Maan Karate.

The movie focuses on a group of five IT professionals who receive information about future events in a fairly unusual way, and try to make that future come true.

While Maan Karate managed a decent run at the box office, its Telugu version lost sight of the goal, turning into a mishmash that was entertaining in parts, but failed to convince movie-goers.

While not every remake set registers ringing, the trend is surely here to stay. 2017, already has two major remakes coming, with the Chiranjeevi starrer Khaidi No. 150 remaking the Tamil film Kaththi, and the highly successful sports film, Irudhi Suttrui being remade as Guru starring Daggubati  Venkatesh.