Fahadh Faasil, Take Off
Fahadh FaasilFahadh Faasil/Facebook

Actor Fahadh Faasil is basking in the success of the movie Take Off, which is garnering praise from the audience. During his recent interview with a regional news channel, the actor has opened up on Take Off, and why he took a break after his last film Maheshinte Prathikaram, and many more.

Interestingly, Fahadh has made his stand clear on the concept of remaking hit movies in other languages. He has openly claimed that he totally hates the idea of remaking a good movie.

"I am against remakes. People must watch the movie just the way it is originally made. Once it's done, it's done for the world audience. I do not understand the business of reproducing a movie. It might bring money for the industry, but as a performer and a lover of cinema, it's not a healthy practise," Fahadh said during an interview when he was asked if Take Off would be remade in any other language.

Meanwhile, Fahadh has no problem with sequels or prequels.

"Sequels and prequels are very good. Because the story line will be different and hence there is a scope for cinema. Doing the same thing again, NO. Remakes are very boring. I have never watched remakes. Industry might be surviving financially by repackaging a proven product," he added.

[Watch from 20:15 minute of the video below]

The pitfalls

It's a given that remakes can't avoid comparisons with the original. More often than not, remakes can't even begin to hold a candle to the original movie.

In most remakes, the actors show a tendency to imitate the performances in the original version. For example, Malayalam movie Premam was a huge hit and audience were heaping praises on the storyline and the natural performances of the actors. The immense popularity of the movie inspired many remakes.

In the Telugu remake, Naga Chaitanya did the role of Nivin Pauly, and the former was obviously aping the body language of the latter, with little to no effect.

Also read: Malar Miss in Premam: Fans think Sai Pallavi is irreplaceable

Premam, Premam remake
Premam movie posters.Premam/Facebook

Ok Jaanu, the remake of Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menon's OK Kanmani, failed to recreate the same magic of Mani Ratnam's original version. Similarly, many good Malayalam movies like Drishyam, Manichithrathazhu, Body Guard, Ramji Rao Speaking, Katha Parayumbol, Punjabi House and Boeing Boeing, among others were also remade in other languages, and it goes without saying most of them were not as good as the original.

Ok Kanmani, Ok Jaanu
Ok Kanmani and Ok Jaanu movie posters.Facebook

What can be done?

English subtitles is a great way to boost the reach of regional movies. Though it might come as a slight distraction, the production values of the movies stay more or less intact. It has to be noted that most of the Malayalam movies are now released with English subtitles.

Dubbing also holds a lot of potential. Recently, the Telugu dubbed versions of Mohanlal's hit Malayalam movies Pulimurugan and Oppam as Manyam Puli and Kanupapa, respectively, were opened to positive response. Actor Unni Mukundan has also shared his excitement over the response he got for the 2016 movie Style, which was uploaded on YouTube with Hindi voice-over. Though it was done without the consent of the team, the movie, directed by Binu S, has now become one of the most watched video on YouTube with over 5 million views.