Mark Wahlberg Birthday Special: Was Actor's Breakout Film 'Fear' Remake of Shah Rukh Khan-Sunny Deol's Darr? No, Here's The Truth!
It is often claimed that Yash Chopra's Darr, which starred Sunny Deol, Juhi Chawla and Shah Rukh Khan, inspired Fear, but the truth is Fear instead inspired two other Bollywood films, both made by the same director.
Mark Wahlberg, the popular Hollywood star, was born on June 5, 1971, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The actor, who is presently popular for his roles in movies like The Departed, The Italian Job, The Other Guys, Ted and more, had transitioned from a hip-hop career to acting in the year 1993 with the TV movie The Substitute. He later shared the screen with Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1995 film Basketball Diaries. It was in 1996 when the actor found breakout success in a leading negative role in James Foley's thriller Fear. Happy Birthday Mark Wahlberg! From Departed To Boogie Nights, Here Are 5 Movies Where His Performance Was Brilliant!
Many claim that Fear is a rare case of Hollywood taking inspiration from Bollywood. In this case, it was allegedly the late Yash Chopra's Darr, which came two years before in 1993. The Bollywood romantic thriller starred Sunny Deol, Juhi Chawla, and Shah Rukh Khan as the leads. SRK won immense praise for his performance as a psychopathic stalker who anonymously troubles his former college mate, played by Chawla, and earns the wrath of her boyfriend, played by Deol. The movie is known for Khan's iconic line, "K K K Kiran!" Darr was also the beginning of a strong and long relationship between the superstar and Chopra family. Also, it paved his way to play the male lead in Aditya Chopra's directorial debut Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
Watch a Scene From Darr:
But let me bust this long-standing myth here - the only similarities between Fear and Darr are that the former's title is merely a translation of the latter and that both films have psychopathic leads.
In Fear, Wahlberg plays a mysterious young man who dates the daughter of a rich family, but the patriarch thinks there is something wrong with the man. And he is horrified to learn that his daughter's lover has a vicious temper. The movie, directed by James Foley, also stars Reese Witherspoon as the female lead, along with William Petersen, Alyssa Milano and Amy Brenneman. Mark Wahlberg Birthday Special: From Ted to The Departed, 5 Best Performances of the Actor That Showed Off His Acting Chops!
Check out the trailer of Fear here:
So tell me, how are Fear and Darr similar, apart from the names? In fact, the truth is that Fear has gone on to inspire two other Hindi films, interestingly, helmed by the same director. Before Run Lola Run, 10 Foreign Movies That Inspired Two or More Bollywood Remakes, Featuring Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Others.
Vikram Bhatt first remade the Hollywood thriller in 2003 as Inteha. Ashmit Patel, who stepped into Wahlberg's shoes, made his acting debut in it. Nauheed Cyrusi played his love interest, and Vidya Malvade played her protective sister.
Watch a Song From the Film Inteha:
In just three months, Bhatt again remade the film as Aetbaar, but with bigger names in the cast. This time, John Abraham plays the violent boyfriend, his former girlfriend Bipasha Basu as his object of obsession, and Amitabh Bachchan as the father of the girl. A fun fact here is that Vikram Bhatt made a film called Fear in 2007, though it had nothing to do with its Hollywood namesake and was a horror-thriller.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2024 12:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).