Malayalam movies are captivating, especially when viewed in their original language. However, when remade in other languages, the story or impact often changes. Since the COVID-19 lockdown, there has been tremendous craze for Malayalam movies, but this craze has existed for decades. Remakes of Malayalam movies have been around for a long time, with a higher success rate in Hindi.
In the 90s, many Malayalam comedy movies were remade in Hindi and became super hits, including the all-time favorite, Hera Pheri. However, when remade in other languages such as Telugu, they did not receive much recognition. Even the Telugu remake of Hera Pheri, titled 'Dhanalakshmi I Love You', was a quality remake with great performances from Senior Naresh, Allari Naresh, Aditya Om, and Ankita. Despite this, it did not resonate with the Telugu audience and did not perform well at the box office.
Some Malayalam movies have become cult hits in Telugu, such as Megastar Chiranjeevi's Hitler, which was a remake of the Malayalam film of the same title starring Mammootty. Similarly, Peddarikam was a decent Telugu hit, which was a Malayalam remake. But on the flip side, many hit comedies in Malayalam have also been remade in Telugu, such as "Gandhinagar Rendo Veedhi, Chilakkottudu, and Ma Balaji. However, these original movies are classics in Malayalam, and their remakes did not perform well in Telugu at all.
A Malayalam film of Mohanlal was remade into Telugu with the title 'Gundaism Nasinchali' with Rakasekhar in the main lead, directed by Kodandarami Reddy. The film was one of the blockbuster classics in Malayalam film history, but in Telugu, no one knows if such a film has seen the light.
Recently, popular Malayalam movies like Ayyappanum Koshiyum, Lucifer, Kappela, Joseph, Angamali Diaries, and Maheshinte Prathikaram have been remade in Telugu, but none have been able to surpass the original. While budget, collections, and tweaks may be factors, the original versions still seem to be better. Only a few movies, such as Premam and Dhishyam series, have been successfully remade, with the Telugu remake of Dhishyam 2 performing well at the box office and being released directly on OTT platforms.
Although Malayalam remakes have been successful in Hindi, the latest Malayalam movie remakes have been hit or miss. The remake of Driving License as Selfie was a box office failure, while the Malayalam movie Katha Parayampol became a super hit in Malayalam but was a disaster in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi. Similarly, Bodyguard was a hit in Malayalam but not in other languages.
Remaking Malayalam movies in other languages can be risky. If people have already seen the original version, there may be nothing left to see in the remake. If the remake is a direct copy of the original, it may not appeal to audiences. While some Malayalam movies have been successful in other languages, many have not been able to replicate the success of the original.
