Bollywood's Telugu takeover: 'Shehzada' to 'Jersey', remakes of hit South films

Bollywood has been remaking Telugu films since the late 1940s. These remakes usually involve adapting the plot, characters, and dialogue of a Telugu film to the Hindi film industry. Over the years, many classic Telugu films have been remade in Bollywood, including the likes of Prabhas’s 'Varsham', Mahesh Babu’s 'Pokiri', Ram Pothineni’s 'Ready', Ravi Teja’s 'Vikramarkudu' and Sunil’s 'Maryada Ramanna'. Some of the biggest Bollywood hits, such as 'Coolie No.1', 'No Entry', and 'Rowdy Rathore' have been remade from Telugu films. Bollywood remakes of Telugu films often leverage the star power of the original actors, as well as the success of the original film. Having said that, here’re the five South films that were remade in Bollywood in the recent times.

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'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo' is the third movie in the combination of stylish star Allu Arjun and director Trivikram Srinivas. The Telugu film has fetched sensational collections at the Tollywood box office, upon its release in 2020. Elements like Trivikram's mark dialogues, Bunny's performance, Thaman's music, Pooja Hegde's glamor became the biggest assets of the movie. The Telugu hit film was remade in Hindi with the name 'Shehzada' starring Kartik Aaryan and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles. This Hindi film which was released on February 17 opened to positive reviews from the audience. It remains to be seen how the Hindi remake of Telugu film will rock the box office.

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'Jersey' is sports drama released in April 2022 written and directed by Gowtam Tinnanuri. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, and Pankaj Kapur in lead roles. It was adapted from Tinnanuri's own Telugu film of the same name, which was released in 2019, the film revolves around a talented but failed cricketer, Arjun (Shahid Kapoor), who decides to make a comeback and represent the Indian cricket team. Arjun's journey to the Indian cricket team is an emotional and inspiring one, as he overcomes the struggles of his personal life and the hardships of the game. The film also explores the challenges of providing for a family and how it can take a toll on a person's dreams and ambitions. The film was a critical and commercial success and was praised for its direction, acting, and story.

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Sailesh Kolanu’s directorial debut, HIT: The First Case starring Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma released in 2020 and became a sleeper hit. Two years later, its Hindi remake was released with the same name. The Hindi film stars Rajkummar Rao and Sanya Malhotra in the lead roles and received positive reviews from the audience. The film follows the story of a police officer investigating a series of murders in his city. The officer is assisted by a mysterious hacker, who helps him unravel the truth behind the murders.

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Janhvi Kapoor came up with a crime comedy in July last year with Good Luck Jerry, a remake of Tamil film Kolamaavu Kokila written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar, which was released in 2018. Those who watch this movie can't stop laughing and Janhvi's performance as a middle-class young woman will also make you crazy about her. Nayanthara played the lead role in the Tamil film. Janhvi stepped into the shoes of Nayan in the Hindi remake. But, Good Luck Jerry was released directly on an OTT platform.

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Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan came together to star in the Hindi remake of Tamil blockbuster film Vikram Veda of the same name. Pushkar–Gayathri, who directed the original helmed the Hindi remake. The neo-noir action thriller film is based on the Indian folklore of Vikram-Betal, which is about a brave king, Vikramaditya, who helps a mysterious creature, Betal, escape from a demon. The film follows the story of a brave cop, Vikram, who is on a mission to capture a notorious gangster, Vedha. The film will explore the classic theme of good versus evil, with Vedha's character embodying the gray area between the two.

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