Before Run Lola Run, 10 Foreign Movies That Inspired Two or More Bollywood Remakes, Featuring Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Others

In an important announcement made on February 18, it was confirmed that Taapsee Pannu and Tahir Raj Bhasin would play the lead roles in Looop Lapeta. The movie is an official remake of the German hit, Run Lola Run, that came out in 1998. It is an interesting project for sure, with an even more interesting trivia - Run Lola Run had already been ripped off by Bollywood in 2003 with the film Ek Din 24 Ghante, that starred Nandita Das and Rahul Bose. Looop Lapeta: Did You Know Run Lola Run, The Inspiration Behind Taapsee Pannu’s Film, Was Already Remade in Bollywood?

In an industry that is known for remaking not just Hollywood films, but other foreign movies and even South films, it shouldn't come off as a surprise that a film could inspire two or even more remakes in Bollywood. Thankfully for the makers of the Taapsee Pannu's starrer, not many remember the older version (that also lacked the finesse of Run Lola Run). That isn't the case with every remake, though. From Haseen Dillruba to Looop Lapeta, Taapsee Pannu's Film Kitty is Overflowing with as Many as Five New Releases.

In this special feature, we look at 10 other foreign films that inspired two or more remakes.

Seven Samurai/The Magnificent Seven

Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Seven Samurai found itself a Hollywood remake in the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven (that itself was remade with the same name in 2016). Both the films inspired quite a few Bollywood remakes. Prime examples among them are Amitabh Bachchan's Sholay (that was remade as Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag), Feroz Khan's Khottey Sikke, Om Puri's China Gate and John Abraham's Elaan, among others.

The Godfather

Francis Ford Coppola's brilliant 1972 film The Godfather is considered as the baap of gangster movies. The movie found itself inspiring several Hindi movies like Feroz Khan's Dharmatma, Aamir Khan's Aatank Hi Aatank, Amitabh Bachchan's Sarkar and Ranbir Kapoor's Raajneeti. Interestingly, The Godfather Part II also found itself remade as Vinod Khanna's Dayavan.

On The Waterfront

Another Marlon Brando classic, the 1954 film On The Waterfront, found itself being remade two times in Bollywood. One was the 1988 Mahesh Bhatt film Kabzaa, starring Sanjay Dutt and Amrita Singh. Later, Mahesh Bhatt's protege Vikram Bhatt remade the film as Ghulam in 1998 with Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji.

Sleeping With The Enemy

Julia Roberts' 1991 thriller found itself inspiring not one but three major Bollywood remakes, two of them having the same lead actor. There is the 1996 film Agni Sakshi,  starring Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala and Nana Patekar, where Patekar won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. We also have Abbas-Mustan's Daraar that has Rishi Kapoor and Juhi Chawla in the lead, and marked the debut of Arbaaz Khan. Rishi Kapoor also starred in another ripoff, Yaarana, which had Madhuri Dixit and Raj Babbar. The movie is best known for the song, "Mera Piya Ghar Aaya".

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a 1988 crime comedy film, starring Steve Martin and Sir Michael Caine, about two con-men trying to swindle a rich heiress. The movie was remade by David Dhawan in 2011 as Rascals with Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn and Kangana Ranaut in the lead. Even before this remake came out, Rakesh Roshan had attempted a film with a similar premise in the 1992 film Khel, that had Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit in the lead.

State of Grace

This 1990 crime drama had Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Ed Harris and Robin Wright. The movie's gritty premise of a cop going undercover to bust a gang led by his childhood friends inspired two Bollywood movies, both once again involving Mahesh Bhatt and Vikram Bhatt. Mahesh Bhatt made Angaaray, which came out in 1998, and had Akshay Kumar, Nagarjuna, Pooja Bhatt, Sonali Bendre in the lead roles. Five years later, Vikram Bhatt reused the formula for Footpath, starring Aftab Shivdasani and Bipasha Basu, and is best known for being Emraan Hashmi's debut.

Breaking Away

Mansoor Khan's Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, starring Aamir Khan, is considered as one of Bollywood's best sports films as well as coming-of-age dramas. Not many know that it has been inspired by the 1979 film Breaking Away. Another Bollywood film, the Sunny Deol-starrer Rok Sako Toh Rok Lo, is also inspired by this movie.

Indecent Proposal

The erotic drama featuring Demi Moore, Robert Redford and Woody Harrelson came out in 1993 and was a big hit. It inspired two Bollywood films, both of which couldn't replicate the success of the original. First was the 1995 film Sauda, starring Neelam, Vikas Bahl and Sumeet Saigal. Indecent Proposal also inspired Rakesh Roshan to make Karobaar: The Business of Love, starring Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla and Rishi Kapoor.

Fear

It is widely speculated that this Mark Wahlberg-starrer, that came out in 1996, was itself a remake of Yash Chopra's 1993 film Darr. Save for the translation of that title, the rumour isn't true, though. Instead, Fear had inspired two major Bollywood films, the 2003 starrer Inteha featuring Ashmit Patel and Vidya Malvade, and the 2004 film Aetbaar, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and John Abraham. Interestingly, both films, coming within the gap of a year, were directed by Vikram Bhatt.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a cult hit horror-thriller that was a big hit and spawned a franchise. It also inspired two Bollywood films. The first is Dhund, that came out in 2003 and starred Amar Upadhyay, Apurva Agnihotri, Aditi Govitrikar and Irrfan Khan. There is also Ekta Kapoor's Kucch To Hai, that came out in the same year, and had Tusshar Kapoor, Esha Deol and Rishi Kapoor in the cast.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2020 08:40 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).