The huge international success of historical epic action movie RRR has led to a surge in film fans in countries such as the US and UK seeking out Bollywood movies. The irony is that RRR is not a Bollywood movie. Bollywood refers to Hindi-language movies made in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay, hence the B). RRR is a Telugu-language movie, and is part of the Tollywood industry based in southern India.
RRR is sure to have a positive knock-on effect to the movie industry in all parts of India, with more people seeking out films from that country than would have done before. For many, RRR was the first Indian film they had seen on a big screen and now that it’s available on Netflix, it has an even wider audience. Let’s just hope that Hollywood does not attempt to remake RRR, because that would be disastrous.
It does work both ways though, and Bollywood does have a tradition of remaking Hollywood movies. The latest is a remake of Forrest Gump, which follows Robert Zemeckis’ 1994 movie closely, except with an Indian back-drop instead of an American one.
The trailer shows Laal (Aamir Khan), the Forrest stand-in growing up with the same challenges – his legs in splints and being considered below average intelligence. It also features his close relationship with a woman – Rupa (Kareena Kapoor) – who is the stand in for Jenny (Robin Wright). And the film’s most famous line has been adapted for an Indian audience; “My mamma used to say ‘life is like a golgappa.'”
You can watch the trailer below;
Some previous Bollywood remakes of Hollywood movies include Reservoir Dogs, Mrs Doubtfire, When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and many more. There are also Bollywood-adjacent versions of classic stories such Gurinder Chadha’s Bride & Prejudice, which is a modern version of Pride & Prejudice.
Find out whether Forrest Gump made our list of the best 90s movies.