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Rediff.com  » Movies » From stage to silver screen: Bollywood's FINEST adaptations
This article was first published 10 years ago

From stage to silver screen: Bollywood's FINEST adaptations

Last updated on: July 23, 2013 19:30 IST

Image: Amyra Dastur and Prateik Babbar in Issaq

Movies have always owed a lot to the theatre -- from actors to technique, from storytelling processes to experimental radicalism, cinema borrows.

And some of the finest cinema comes from adapting material that has already been successful on stage.

With yet another Romeo and Juliet set to die in Issaq -- Manish Tewari's directorial next starring Prateik Babbar and Amyra Dastur as the star-crossed lovers in Benaras -- 
here's a look at ten notable adaptations that went from play to screenplay.

Please ...

 

OMG! Oh My God

Image: Akshay Kumar in OMG! Oh My God

A credited remake of the Australian comedy The Man Who Sued God, OMG also borrowed from hit Gujarati play, Kanji Virudh Kanji.

Made on a tight budget, Umesh Shukla's film was a huge hit.

10ml Love

Image: Rajat Kapoor and Tisca Chopra in 10ml Love

Sharat Kapariya's adaptation of Shakespeare's delightful A Midsummer Night's Dream saw the forest fantasy transposed to a Punjabi wedding.

The results are hit and miss, but Rajat Kapoor and Rasika Duggal are awesome.

Life In A Metro

Image: Sharman Joshi and Kangna Ranaut in Life In A... Metro

While fighting accusations that the Sharman-Kangna part of his three-story narrative was stolen from Billy Wilder's The Apartment, director Anurag Basu said it all came from a play called Chaabi he'd seen in his youth.

Waqt: The Race Against Time

Image: Priyanka Chopra and Akshay Kumar in Waqt: The Race Against Time

Based on a Gujarati play Aavjo Vhala Fari Malishu, Vipul Shah's film saw Amitabh Bachchan play Akshay Kumar's father in a massively melodramatic story about fathers, sons and reality television.

The Last Lear

Image: Preity Zinta and Arjun Rampal in The Last Lear

Decidedly not an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, Rituparno Ghosh's film took its inspiration from Utpal Dutt's acclaimed Bengali play, Aajker Shahjahan -- a play said to be semi-autobiographical, about the actor himself.

Omkara

Image: Ajay Devgn and Kareena Kapoor in Omkara

Vishal Bhardwaj's mastery of cinema reached a zenith with this immaculately crafted adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello.

Saif, Konkona, Kareena, Ajay all shone, but none more than the words, rightfully given pride of place.

Aankhen

Image: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu in Aankhen

Vipul Shah struck blockbuster gold with this all-star adaptation of his own Gujarati play, Aandhalo Pato (which means Blindman's bluff).

It was a hit that marked an upswing in the careers of both Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.

Maqbool

Image: Irrfan Khan and Tabu in Maqbool

The world of Hindi cinema sat up and took notice when Vishal Bhardwaj followed up his quirky debut, Makdee, with this masterful and shadowy adaptation of the Bard's classic, Macbeth.

A dizzyingly ambitious film, this.

Angoor

Image: Deven Verma and Sanjeev Kumar in Angoor

Old, yes, but they don't get much better than this beautiful Gulzar take on Shakespeare's A Comedy Of Errors.

Sanjeev Kumar and Deven Verma are both in smashing form, and the film remains side-splittingly hilarious.