"Inspired" Movies - The Mahesh Bhatt Way

Around a month ago, I saw a newspaper report that Mahesh Bhatt is planning his next movie on the bomb blasts that have rocked London in the month of July. It reminded me of a funny incident that has happened.

My wife is an avid Hindi film goer, in fact one of her complaints of our marriage is that I don't take her to Hindi movies. To compensate that what she does is to get VCD of latest Hindi flicks and watch it at home. One day after our dinner, she was watching a movie called "Zehar". I don't generally sleep immediately after the dinner, so I was sitting in the chair and watching the movie, finally when I got up to go to bed after about half an hour, she wanted me to accompany her through the movie. I remained in my seat to watch the movie, not because I had high expectations about it but because couple of numbers of the sound track are quite good. We watched through the movie and voiced out our opinions before we retired to bed.

A week days later, I was watching Star Movies, and there was a trailer of a movie being advertised during a break and the name of the movie is "Out of time", starring Denzel Washington. I had this strange de javu kind of a feeling that I have watched this movie recently although that was the first time that I ever heard of the movie. Finally before the trailer was complete I have realized that I haven't watched this movie but I have watched another movie which was "inspired" by this. If a movie's trailer could make me realize what the other movie that I watched is, imagine the extent to which the original movie "inspired" the second one.

On the day "Out of time" was telecast, I watched that movie completely. It would have been very courteous on Mahesh Bhatt and Co.'s part if they had acknowledged "Out of time" in its titles. As simple as that. Story, dialogues, screenplay, costumes, everything is an absolute translation/download from the English version. My wife who was very vocal in eulogizing Zehar was dumbstruck when she watched the English version.

Mahesh Bhatt was always known for making inspired movies. The following is a list of the movies that he made (being a director or producer or simply presenter) and their originals that I know, please feel free to add anything else that you know of.

Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin - It happened one night
Sadak - Taxi Driver
Criminal - Fugitive
Paap - Don't remember the name of the original, but it stars Harrison Ford
Zehar - Out of Time
Murder - Unfaithful

I have read one of the prominent Telugu film journalists quoting that the movie "Criminal" was literally made by showing the original to the actors in the sets shot by shot. Finally, the news item that I read makes me wonder, which English movie has inspired him to start his latest venture.