Tollywood copies Hollywood stories !!

Next time a Telugu movie leaves you with a strange sense of déjà vu, don’t fret. It’s no psychic occurrence, just a classic case of ‘copied from Hollywood’. Unfortunately, for cinema lovers in the city, all the latest Tollywood flicks like Kavya’s Diary, Aakashamanthe, Prayanam and many more, that boast of a ‘different storyline’, is more than just “inspired” from English movies. From the plot and settings to even the way scenes are picturised, “everything is lifted”, lament city film buffs.

Satish K, a graphic designer recollects his one such experience of ‘have seen it before’. “I went to watch Kavya’s Diary as the trailers looked interesting. The minute I started watching it, I realised it was the remake of English flick The Hand that Rocks the Cradle. Since I knew every scene from the English film, I couldn’t enjoy Kavya’s Diary at all. It was a waste of time. I wonder why the filmmakers didn’t mention that it is a remake of the movie,” he says.

Balakrishna Kodavati, a filmmaking student couldn’t agree more. “I watch every other release in Tollywood and most often, walk out of the theatre disappointed as they are mere rip-offs of English movies. Directors just add songs, melodrama and and mindless comedy tracks to ‘Indianise’ the plot,” he says.

Veedokkade starring Surya reminds viewers of ' Catch Me If You Can ' and the plot of Aakashamantha bears much resemblance to the storyline of ' Father of the Bride' . While Manoj’s Prayanam is evidently inspired by ' The Terminal,' Nenu Meeku Telusa is very similar to 50 First Dates. Even Arundhati, this year’s biggest blockbuster, is touted to be a desi version of the Hollywood horror Sleepy Hollow.

While Shyam Prasad Reddy, producer of Arundhati, denies this rumour, he admits, “Yes, it is usually easy for a director to convince the hero to act in his film, if it is already a hit in another language. Many feel it is easy to replicate that success. But I can assure you that Arundhati is not a copy of the Sleepy Hollow.However, filmmakers justify that it is ok to ‘draw inspiration’ from different sources. Sravanti Ravi Kishore, senior film maker, says, “What matters is whether the movie is better than the English film or not. Lot of flicks are based on novels. And if that can happen, why can’t movies be inspired by other language films.”