K'wood bitten by B'wood remake bug

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Chennai: With Don, Umrao Jaan and Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay, if it's a season for remakes in Bollywood, the Tamil film fraternity too is stepping down memory lane for inspiration.

It's actor Rajnikanth to the rescue and while Ajith chose the Rajni's legendary hit Billa, a remake of the Hindi Don, actor Vijay is said to have expressed his desire to remake the Tamil superstar's Murattukaalai.

"Now this is the trend and this is the time to make it. If I wanted to do this even two-three years earlier, no one would come forward. If I would want to make it two-three years down the lane, even then, it would be an old idea," says director of Billa, Vishnuvardhan.

But the first Tamil remake, however, is likely to be a contemporary version of Gemini Ganesan's film Naan Avan Illai, starring newcomer Jeevan.

"When I saw the movie, I felt this was the movie I was looking for. I was looking for a good script after Tiruttupayalae. When this came about I thought this is the right script,” says Jeevan.

There are others like director Jeyam Raja who have tasted success mostly by remaking popular Telugu films.

But now, he's eyeing the recent Bollywood blockbuster Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

"I just buy the rights from the other languages. Whether it’s a good film or bad film, if I find the plot is interesting, I just buy the rights and I change it according to the cast and the current trend in the region. I think it's the first time this trend is happening. Don and Sholay are going to make made in Tamil too. It's a good trend I think,” says Jeyam Raja.

Though the Tamil film industry is getting nostalgic for purely creative and commercial reasons, what remains to be seen is whether these films manage to recreate the magic at the box-office too.