Six Bengali classic movies that have Hollywood versions also

Man-made borders can’t suppress a good story. The black and white era of world cinema witnessed so many outstanding stories made into classic movies by both Bengali and Hollywood filmmakers. On several occasions both the sides have acknowledged each other and even took inspiration from the two industries to make films on the same story.

But, as expected, the plots didn’t remain exactly the same. Some were without any change in the story and some were just inspirations. A localized version has to incorporate few modifications in order to attract their own audience.

Here is a list of some of such classic old films that have been made in both Tollywood and Hollywood.

‘Jhinder Bandi’ is still regarded as one of the best black and white Bengali films ever made. Charming Uttam Kumar pitting against a young charismatic Soumitra is all every Bengali wants. This classic movie was inspired by a Saradindu Bandyopadhyay novel which in turn was a retelling of a popular Anthony Hope novel Prisoners of Zenda. Hollywood made the film ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ back in 1937 and once again in 1952, whereas the Bengali version hit the theatres in 1961.

This film will no doubt be a box-office smasher as many times as it will come to cinemas. Julie Andrews and Chris Plummer starrer ‘Sound of Music’ became a landmark Hollywood movie appeared in theatres in 1965. ‘Sound of Music’ grabbed five Academy Awards. For Bengali film lovers, the Uttam Kumar-Aparna Sen jodi too stole every single heart in ‘Jay Jayanti’. Add Sandhya Mukherjee’s evergreen songs to it and the 1971 hit turns out to be a magical experience.

The credit goes to George Bernard Shaw for his epic drama ‘The Pygmalion’. It was actually a famous play first staged in 1913 and later adapted on celluloid as ‘Ogo Bodhu Sundari’ in Bengali and ‘My Fair Lady’ in Hollywood. Both of these master-classes still amaze us entertaining millions all around the globe. The influential subjects showing class division inside social mobility, and the tricky differences in dialogues became both the film’s USP.

Both the films are a classic example of the art of filmmaking. Legendary Satyajit Ray made ‘Abhijan’ in 1962. The story is all about a reckless taxi driver, Narsingh, who is on a mission to reinvent his troubled life going back to his native place but gets involved in a smuggling and human trafficking racket. Soumitra Chatterjee, as Narsingh the taxi driver, gave one of his best performances touching the viewers’ hearts. This popular character and the Bengali film itself is believed to be the sole inspiration for another world-renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese. He drew inspiration from Ray’s movie to present his landmark film ‘Taxi Driver’. The 1976 Hollywood movie had Robert De Niro in the lead role and still remembered as one of the fascinating works ever made, just like Satyajit Ray’s ‘Abhijaan’.

Ritwik Ghatak’s ‘Ajantrik’ (1958) is arguably the father film for many others which followed the same genre. Like Ray’s Abhijaan, this film too became an influencer for Martin Scorsese’s ‘Taxi Driver’. ‘Ajantrik’ is said to be one of the earliest sci-fi movies ever made in world cinema. The story revolves around Bimal, played by Kali Bannerjee, who is a small-town taxi-driver struggling to maintain his existence. The only companion he has is his battered taxi, the jewel of Bimal's eye. The film depicts taxi driver Bimal’s unconditional love for his vehicle ‘Jagaddal’. It also became the first film to establish a driver-car friendship in a light-hearted way. The Ritwik Ghatak movie is believed to be have built the basis of Box Office hits of Herbie, the racing car, the first being ‘The Love Bug’ in 1968.

The 1969 movie ‘Aparichito’ was a multi-starrer featuring none other than Uttam Kumar, Utpal Dutta, Sandhya Roy, Aparna Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee. The film was inspired by a novel named ‘The Ediot’ by renowned Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Though Hollywood hasn’t yet made a film out of it but ‘The Ediot’ legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa made a film based on this novel in 1951. Seven years later, a Russian version was also made by another famous director Ivan Pyryev.