20 Bollywood Movies that were remakes/inspired from Hollywood Movies

“Kaante” is Tarantino’s favourite remake of his film!

Updated on December 27, 2021 17:09 PM by Evelyn Mia

India is known for its film industry, Bollywood. There are people all over the world who love Bollywood movies. However, over the years, the industry has been known for its remakes. Be it from Tamil movies or Malayam or Telegu, or even Hollywood and other international movies. Some Bollywood movies are official remakes and some are heavily inspired. But, there are also movies that are exact copies of the original one. Nonetheless, some of them have proved to be exceptionally good and even done great at the box office, and some just failed to impress the audience and critics. Are you eager to know which Bollywood movies are official remakes or are heavily inspired by Hollywood movies? Then, you have come to the right place! Read on and get amazed by these movies that were remakes/inspired by the Hollywood ones.

Dil Bechara

I am sure everyone is familiar with the book “The Fault in our stars” by John Green, that was later adapted into a Hollywood movie of the same name, that was directed by ?. “Dil Bechara” is the Hindi remake of it. Directed by Mukesh Chhabra, this Bollywood movie is produced by Fox Studios. Released on the 24^th of July 2020, the script of the movie is written by Suprotim Sengupta and Shashank Khaitan. With cinematography by Setu, the movie stars Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjana Sanghi and Saif Ali Khan. This was Sushant Singh Rajput’s final movie. He passed away on the 14^th of June 2020 before the release of the movie.

Players

“Players” is the official remake of one of Hollywood’s most popular heist movie “The Italian Job”(2003), directed by F. Gary Gray. The Bollywood remake “Players” is directed by Abbas-Mustan and the screenplay is by Rohit Jugraj and Sudip Sharma. The producers are Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Burmawala Partners. With cinematography by Ravi Yadav, the movie stars Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Bipasha Basu, Sonam Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Sikandar Kher and Omi Vaidya. While “The Italian Job” was a massive hit, “Players” that released in 2012 did not see such a success.

The Girl on the Train

Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, this 2021 film is a remake of the American film of the same name, directed by Tate Taylor and starring Emily Blunt. The American film is based on the novel of the same name by Paula Hawkins. In the Bollywood remake, Emily Blunt’s role is played by Parineeti Chopra. The screenplay is by Erin Cressida Wilson, Ribhu Dasgupta and Viddesh Malandkar. The cinematography is done by Tribhuvan Babu Sadineni and the producers are Vivek B, Agrawal and Shibashish Sarkar. The movie was released on the 26^th of February 2021. It premiered on Netflix due to the pandemic. Apart from Parineeti Chopra, the movie also stars Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari and Avinash Tiwary.

Tees Maar Khan

Akshay Kumar starrer, “Tees Maar Khan” is an official remake of the 1966 heist comedy film, “After the Fox”, directed by Vittorio De Sica. The Bollywood remake is directed by Farah Khan and was released on the 24^th of December 2010. It is produced by Twinkle Khanna, Shirish Kunder and Ronnie Screwvala. The cinematography is done by P. S. Vinod and it is written by Kunder and his brother, Ashmith. As is common with most Bollywood films, this film also has a dance number, for which the film is remembered today. The dance number is by Katrina Kaif on the song ‘Sheila ki Jawaani’.

Bang Bang

This 2014 Bollywood movie is a remake of the popular and hit American action comedy movie “Knight and Day” (2010), that was directed by James Mangold with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz playing the lead roles. The Bollywood remake is directed by Siddharth Anand and is produced by Fox Studios. Abbas Tyrewala, Suresh Nair and Sujoy Ghosh has written it and the cinematography is done by Sunil Patel. It released on the 2^nd of October 2014. The movie stars Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles with co-stars Javed Jaffrey and Danny Denzongpa. “Bang Bang” did not let people down. It became a hit and was a box office success.

Kyo Kii… Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta

This movie shares a lot of resemblance with the 1997 Hollywood film, “Liar Liar”, that is directed by Tom Shadyac and stars Jim Carrey in the lead role. In fact, this movie earned Jim Carrey a Golden Globe nomination and is one of his most iconic movies. “Kyo Kii… Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta” is directed by David Dhawan and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor. The movie stars Govinda, Sushmita Sen, Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik, Rambha, Mohnish Bahl and Ashish Vidyarthi. The cinematography is done by K. P. Prakash Rao and the movie was released on the 21^st of September 2001.

Bunty Aur Babli

“Bunty Aur Babli” draws inspiration from the hit 1967 American biographical film “Bonnie and Clyde” that is directed by Arthur Penn. The Bollywood film is directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Aditya Chopra. It is written by Jaideep Sahni and the cinematography is done by Avik Mukhopadhyay. The film stars Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan. It’s because of the massive success of this film that the iconic Bonnie and Clyde are known to the Indian audience.

Dil Bole Hadippa!

“Dil Bole Hadippa!” is the Bollywood adaptation of “She’s the Man”, the 2006 American film, directed by Andy Fickman and starring Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum. The Bollywood film is directed by Anurag Singh and the cinematography is done by Sudeep Chatterjee. The screenplay is by Aparajita and it is produced by Aditya Chopra. Starring Rani Mukerji and Shahid Kapoor in the main roles, the film was released on the 18^th of September 2009. It also stars Anupam Kher, Sherlyn Chopra, Dalip Tahil and Rakhi Sawant.

Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai

This film is considered to be partially inspired by the 1997 Julia Roberts starrer “My Best Friend’s Wedding” directed by P. J. Hogan. The Bollywood film is directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and written by Mayur Puri and Gadhvi. It is produced by Yash and Aditya Chopra. The cinematography is done by Sunil Patel and the movie was released on the 7^th of June 2002. The film stars Uday Chopra, Tulip Joshi, Bipasha Basu and Jimmy Sheirgill. It did a fairly good job at the box office.

Dostana

“Dostana” was a fresh concept in Bollywood, however, it was not original. This movie was inspired by the hit 2007 buddy comedy movie “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”, directed by Dennis Dugan with Adam Sandler and Kevin James playing the title characters. The Bollywood movie is directed by Tarun Mansukhani and written by Anvita Dutt Guptan and Mansukhani. The producers are Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar. The cinematography is done by Ayananka Bose and it was released on the 14^th of November 2008. The movie stars John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani and Sushmita Mukherjee. It was a box office success and also inspired fashion trends in India.

Humraaz

“Humraaz” is the Bollywood remake of the 1988 American crime thriller “A Perfect Murder”, that itself is a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Dial M for Murder”. The Bollywood remake is directed by Abbas-Mustan and written by Shiraz Ahmed and Shyam Goel. It is produced by Ganesh Jain, Ratan Jain and Champak Jain. The cinematography is done by Ravi Yadav and it was released on the 26^th of July 2002. It stars Bobby Deol, Amisha Patel and Akshaye Khanna.

Heyy Babyy

“Heyy Babyy” is based on the 1990 Malayalam film, “Thoovalsparsham”, which itself is adapted from the 1987 American film “Three Men and a Baby”, directed by Leonard Nimoy. “Heyy Babyy” is directed by Sajid Khan and written by Milap Zaveri and Sajid Khan. It is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The cinematography is done by Himman Dhamija and the film was released on the 24^th of August 2007. It stars Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Fardeen Khan, Boman Irani, Vidya Balan and Anupam Kher. The film received positive response and became a hit.

Kaante

Quentin Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” is not unknown to people. “Kaante” is heavily inspired by that film. In fact, Tarantino says that “Kaante” is his favourite remake among the films that were inspired by his works. It is directed by Sanjay Gupta and produced by Pritish Nandy, Film Club Limited, Larry Mortoff and Sanjay Sippy. The cinematography is done by Kurt Brabbee and was released on the 20^th of December 2002. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty, Lucky Ali, Mahesh Manjrekar, Kumar Gaurav, Isha Koppikar, Rohit Roy, Malaika Arora, Rati Agnihotri and Namrata Singh Gujral. This movie saw a huge success at the box office.

Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye

This is a remake of the 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, “The Wedding Singer” with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in the lead roles. “Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye” is directed by K. Muralimohana Rao. It is written by Sanjay Chhel, Manoj Lalwani, Rajesh Malik and Abbas Hirapurwala. It is produced by Narendra Bajaj and the cinematography is done by Rajan Kinagi. It released on the 17^th of November 2000 and stars Salman Khan, Jackie Shroff, Rani Mukerji, Raveena Tandon, Pooja Batra, Mohnish Bahl and Kashmera Shah.

Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha

This is a remake of the 1995 American film “French Kiss” directed by Lawrence Kasdan. “Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha” is directed and written by Anees Bazmee. It is produced by Gordhan Tanwani and the cinematography is done by Nirmal Jani. Starring Ajay Devgn, Kajol and Om Puri, the film released on the 15^th of July 1998. It was a super hit film and the third highest grosser of the year.

Partner

Based on the 2005 American film “Hitch” by Andy Tennant with Will Smith in the lead role, “Partner” is directed by David Dhawan and written by Yunus Sajawal, Sanjay Chhel and Dhawan. It is produced by Sohail Khan and Parag Sanghvi. The film’s cinematography is done by Johny Lal and was released on the 20^th of July 2007, two years after the original film. Starring Govinda, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Lara Dutta, it was a major success at the box office and also the fifth highest grossing film of the year.

Ek Ajnabee

Adapted from the 2004 American action film “Man on Fire” by Tony Scott, starring Denzel Washington, which is in turn based on A. J. Quinnell’s novel of the same name, “Ek Ajnabee – A Man Apart” is directed by Apoorva Lakhia. It is produced by Bunty Walia and Jaspreet Singh Walia. The cinematography is done by Gururaj R. J. and was released on the 9^th of December 2005. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role and also has Arjun Rampal, Perizaad Zorabian and Kelly Dorji.

Chachi 420

This is a remake of the 1996 Tamil film “Avvai Shanmughi” which was inspired by the 1993 American film by Chris Columbus, “Mrs. Doubtfire”, starring Robin Williams in the lead role. “Chachi 420” is directed by Kamal Hassan and produced by Chandra Hassan, Kamal Hassan and Jhamu Sughand. The cinematography is done by Vikas Sivaraman and it was released on the 19^th of December 1997. It stars Kamal Hassan in the lead role and also has Tabu, Amrish Puri, Om Puri and Fatima Sana Shaikh. The film was a certified hit at the box office.

3 Deewarein

Influenced by the 1994 American hit film by Frank Darabont, “The Shawshank Redemption”, which is based on the Stephen King novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”, “3 Deewarein” is directed and written by Nagesh Kukunoor. The film is produced by Metalight Productions and was released on the 1^st of August 2003. The cinematography of this film is done by Ajayan Vincent. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Nagesh Kukunoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff and Gulshan Grover. Kukunoor received the Filmfare Award for Best Story, for this film.

Phir Hera Pheri

This Bollywood movie is inspired from the 1998 crime comedy movie by Guy Ritchie, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”. It is directed and co-written by Neeraj Vora. Firoz A. Nadiadwala is the producer and the cinematography is done by Velraj. The movie was released on the 9^th of June 2006 and stars Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Sunil Shetty, Bipasha Basu, Rimi Sen, Johnny Lever and Rajpal Yadav. It became such a huge hit that it earned a cult status in the country.