It’s interesting how some ideas find a universal appeal. The basic plot of Japanese author Keigo Higashino’s 2005 bestseller The Devotion of Suspect X has inspired 6 remakes in India. It began with the Malayalam film Drishyam (2013) starring Mohanlal and Meena, which was allegedly unofficially inspired by the book. The film raked in over Rs 66cr in ticket sales alone which is huge for Malayalam cinema. Drishyam is reportedly the first Malayalam film to cross Rs 1cr in the US and UK and became the second film to complete 100 days in the UAE after - wait for it... Titanic!
The film’s remake rights were immediately grabbed by other Indian languages. The first look of the Hindi version starring Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran is out and it looks good. It’s tough to make a Bollywood A-list actor look like a regular middle class guy, but Ajay’s look as your neighbourhood cable guy seems to fit the bill.
The original Japanese novel revolves around a neighbour who helps a mother and daughter in the flat across to cover up for the murder of their husband / father. The Malayalam film Drishyam, which released in 2013, cleverly adapted it into a middle class family setting where the husband helps cover up a murder committed by his wife to save their family, thereby making it a family drama and a nail biting thriller - a rare combination.
The Telugu remake titled Drushyam featuring Venkatesh and Meena released last year and again went on to become one of the highest grossing Telugu films of 2014.
Also successfully released last year was the Kannada version Drishya starring Ravichandran and Navya Nair, the film ran for over 100 days.
The Tamil version roped in Kamal Haasan and Gauthami in the lead and the film titled Papanasam is one of the most anticipated releases scheduled to hit cinemas later this year.
The twist in this tale of remakes is that - all these films are ‘unofficial’ adaptations of Keigo Higashino’s book. The official remake right of the Japanese bestseller has been bought by Ekta Kapoor who has bankrolled the original big screen Hindi adaptation of The Devotion of Suspect X, which will star Saif Ali Khan and Kangana Ranaut and be directed by Sujoy Ghosh.
Though Ekta Kapoor did send a legal notice to the producers of Drishyam claiming copyright violation, things seem to have worked in favour of the Ajay Devgn starrer which is expected to release on July 31.
Now will the audience suffer from a Drishyam fatigue by the time Sujoy Ghosh’s official remake makes it to theatres or whether the filmmaker will attempt something different with the same plot remains to be seen.
(Twitter: @Suresh_Mathew_)
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