With inspiration

Steven Spielberg has expressed an interest in conducting a cross-cultural “experiment”: remaking an American movie in India,reinterpreted by an Indian director,screenwriter and actors. But there is nothing original about this plot. Quite a few of Bollywood’s leading directors,screenwriters,musicians,actors and even poster artists spend a lot of their time doing precisely this. Spielberg’s “experiment” is already a humming production line,which churns out hit after “inspired” hit. A DVD player and the latest hits from Amazon can channel all the “inspiration” a banner needs for commercial success. No other investment is required.

There’s inspired,and then there’s “inspired”. Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay,a turning point in the history of Indian cinema,recalls The Magnificent Seven,and Gabbar Singh owes something to For a Few Dollars More. But R.D. Burman’s score for “Mehbooba,Mehbooba” is a certified copy of the 1974 hit,“Say You Love Me” by the Greek singer Demis Roussos,of the progressive rock group Aphrodite’s Child. The other famous Greek in the group,Vangelis of “Chariots of Fire” fame,has also been ripped off by Indian music directors.

Kaante bears an uncanny resemblance to Reservoir Dogs,Partner to Hitch,Mohabbatein to Dead Poets’ Society,Chachi 420 to Mrs Doubtfire. Stop it! This list of derivative hits would just be a ripoff of other lists that have been published repeatedly since the dawn of plagiarism. Even posters are freely and gleefully copied — artwork for Ra.One was unabashedly like Batman Begins. Copycats are outed in the media — the latest were Jism 2 and Heroine — but don’t produce a flicker of surprise in the readership. Because India produces close to 1,000 films every year. Without a little “inspiration”,this would be an impossible feat.