The English and their lifestyle have greatly remained with us, and I don’t need to get into the details of how that happened! But one interesting phenomenon that has been noticed over the years is the affection of Indian directors with English writers and their works. The idea of turning a book into a movie has been, time and again, used to give an exceptional visualisation to the works of eminent writers. While some have been unsuccessful in their efforts to live up to the novel/drama’s standards, there have been others who have kept the magic intact and have done full justice to the story.
Here’s are five Bollywood movies inspired by works of English Writers.
1) Aisha
This 2010 romantic comedy film directed by Rajshree Ojha is based on the classic novel ‘Emma’ by English novelist, Jane Austen whose works of romantic fiction made her one of the most widely read writers in English literature. The story talks about a rich girl, Aisha whose twisted ways of match-making and perceptions of love and marriage, land her in pretty amusing situations. Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol acted in the movie as the lead characters. While the novel, Emma, is a classic, the movie, Aisha, received positive to mixed critical response.
2) Daag: A Poem Of Love
A 1973 super-hit, this movie laid the foundation of Yash Raj Films. The film was an adaptation of the novel, ‘The Mayor Of Casterbridge’ by British author Thomas Hardy. The movie had all elements to make it a success which includes popular actors – Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna and Raakhee, the expertise of Yash Chopra as the director and the music by Laxmikant Pyarelal. The story talks about a young man, who, in order to protect his wife, ends up killing a man and then marries another woman to establish a new identity and hide from the law.
3) Tere Mere Sapne
Directed by Vijay Anand, this movie was released in 1971 and was a huge hit for its theme of medical ethics. The story is based on ‘The Citadel’, a novel by A.J. Cronin, a Scottish novelist and physician. Dev Anand, Hema Malini and Mumtaz’s acting and S.D. Burman’s music gave that extra pinch of flavour to the theme.
4) Lootera
Okay, I hear you! While the movie wasn’t entirely an adaptation of the short story, Lootera was partly based on O. Henry’s short story, ‘The Last Leaf’. Except for the last heart-warming bit of the character’s efforts to draw a leaf on the tree in the midst of a storm for the leading lady to have a hope to live, the movie,otherwise, was completely different from the story. Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha made an impressive effort with this period drama and the music by Amit Trivedi made it even more spectacular.
5) Angoor
It is absolute bravery to make a Hindi film based on Shakespeare’s farcical comedy, ‘The Comedy Of Errors’, and Gulzar lived up to every inch of the expectations. This 1982 flick with its unusual title and brilliant portrayal of characters by Sanjeev Kumar, Deven Verma, Moushmi Chatterjee and Deepti Naval received the much-deserved appreciation. The story talks about identical twins who were separated at birth and met as adults, giving a hilarious outcome and a mind-boggling confusion. It still is considered as one of Bollywood’s finest comedies.
