Indian cinema has always had a rich reservoir of stories. Our traditional religious texts as also regional literature lend themselves to interesting cinematic presentation. Many of the early film makers were quite adept at translating these stories for the screen. As the society began to modernize, directors began to seek contemporary themes. It also marked the advent of the era of good writers. Sensitive directors who had a feel for the core of a good novel or play transformed them into enjoyable fare. As most producers were interested in tapping a wider market, they made films in multiple languages. Also the actors and actresses of that era came from diverse backgrounds and were easily adaptable. Hence, many films were made in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada simultaneously. If the film was a hit, almost invariably it was sought to be made in Hindi as well. Such was the beginning of what is known as remakes.

Remakes retain the core of the story but the presentation is usually tailored to meet the local audience tastes. This includes star cast and technical crew. Some films even have a different director. To make a remake of a successful film is a major challenge. Foremost is of course the formidable precedent set by the original. There are many instances of remakes equaling or exceeding the box office run of the original. There are also films which were not exactly successful as originals but their remakes were super hits. Many remakes have also failed to live up to the expectations. Therefore, one has to be very careful in choosing the right script. Only a director who has an intuitive understanding of the cultural ethos of the target audience can come up with a credible screenplay for the remake.

Of late, there has been a slew of films which are remakes of hit films in other languages. This interaction has been more evident in southern languages. What is the reason for this trend? Well, the south Indian languages share a common idiom and the audience is not much differentiated. Therefore, south Indian producers are gleeful when they see a hit film in any of these languages.

There are several advantages of making remakes. One is assured of a popular script and if one can cobble together a good team, the remake is assured of a good run helped along by aggressive marketing. The business returns of the remakes give a healthy benefit to cost ratio thereby giving the producer value for money.

There could be some criticism about this craze for remakes. Cynics could argue that it reflects the drought in talent for original writing. Let us consider it this way. Just as all good literature is translated into other languages, the same criteria could be applied in the case of remakes. There is nothing wrong in making a good story reach a wider audience as long as the presentation is palatable.