It is not just a coincidence that whenever I watch a Hollywood/Western movie I realize that I’ve seen something similar in some Bollywood movies in the past. And add to that, surprisingly, most of the Bollywood Movies are even scene by scene copy of Hollywood movies.
If you are not into Hollywood movies then you can be forgiven thinking that most of the Bollywood movies are pure desi.
But I give full credits to Bollywood directors/story writers/producers/scriptwriters who are so much expert in copying/lifting Hollywood movies that they give no chance to billions of ignorant Indians to think that their masterpieces are nothing but pure plagiarism.
No one can beat Chinese when it comes to copying products (think iPhone) and no one can beat Indians when it comes to copying movies. Unfortunately two of the world’s greatest civilizations have become synonym with copying. While Chinese copying is world wide known phenomenon, Indian copying are not so well known as no one else understands Bollywood movies except Indians.
Hollywood to Bollywood plagiarism is so much prevalent that I don’t hesitate to say that about 99% of Bollywood movies are copied from Hollywood. Even if they are not copied then at least they are based on similar storyline.
All these clever Bollywood directors with the help of scriptwriters do is to add Indian flavour to the movies by adding out of world and nonsense Dance scenes, some rubbish comedy scenes and stretch movies to 3 torturous hours.
There are very few Bollywood movies which can be considered to be authentic and 100% desi.
Here is the list of Bollywood movies which are either copied from Hollywood or based on Hollywood movies.
1) Sholay
Copied from Hollywood movie “The Magnificent Seven”
Director by Ramesh Sippy and released on 15th August 1975, Sholay is THE most popular Bollywood movie and perhaps will remain the most popular Bollywood movie in the centuries to come.
Sholay’s storyline is completely rubbish and based on the typical dacoits and the saviors (aka Heros in Bollywood) which was a typical storyline for most of the movies made in those era.
What made Sholay most popular was it’s dialogues which remain deeply embedded in every Indian’s mind.
Sholay’s fame can only be realized by this fact than whenever we Indians discuss about Sholay we just don’t ask “Have you watched Sholay?” but we ask “How many times have you watched Sholay?” To be honest I can’t remember how many times I have watched Sholay but I’m sure I’ve watched it at least once in it’s full length and may be few more times in chunks as I can’t bear it for 3 hours which is too boring.
Not to mention that Sholay is the movie which made Amitabh Bachchan a legend.
What is copied?
The storyline is coped, some of the scenes are copied, even some of the shooting scenes are also copied. However instead of 7 there are only 2 main characters in Sholay who take on the gang of Dacoits.
There is a “Basanti” in The Magnificent Seven as well though not as Basanti as our Basanti in Sholay but she is there.
Hats off to Ramesh Shippy for plagiarism and giving us a legendary movie in turn.
2) Peepli Live
Copied from Hollywood Comedy Movie “Invitation To A Suicide”
After watching Peepli Live last month I was convinced that at least I watched a Bollywood movie which seems to be so Indian and contemporary till I stumble upon Invitation To A Suicide. To my dismay Peepli Live turned out to be a villain in copying Invitation To A Suicide.
Peepli Live is a light tragic Comedy, it may not make you laugh full belly but it is worth watching. The portray of Politicians and Whorish Indian Media in the movie is brilliant.
What is Copied?
The storyline is copied and well adapted to Indian audiences by adding the ingredients of Politics, Media and some contemporary issues. Peepli Live is rather based on Invitation To A Suicide rather than copied.
Amir Khan you are busted!!!
I’m, perhaps, the first person to report/accuse Peepli Live being copied from Hollywood.
3) Satte Pe Satta
Copy of Hollywood Musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”
Sometimes back I watched “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” movie on Channel 4 and it didn’t take me even 1 sec to realize that I’m rather watching “Satte Pe Satta”.
Satte Pe Satta, if I’m not wrong, was not a hit movie. Even Presence of Amitabh Bachchan and dream girl Hema Malini couldn’t save it from being flop. Blame it to the plagiarism.
I can say that Satte Pe Satta is 99.99% copy Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Even the scenes and sequences are copied without slight modification.
The plot is similar in both movies, 7 loose brothers living in a farm in uncivilized manner and then out of no where comes a lady who turns them into civilized bunch. Not only that but she also gets them 7 brides.
“Satte Pe Satta” is a term taken from Indian Card game which literally means Seven on Seven and doesn’t quite fit as a movie name. I always used to think that this movie is about gambling before I saw it long time back on cable.
4) Don (1978) starring Amitabh Bachchan
I’m yet to identify the Hollwyood Movie from which it is copied.
I’m more than 100% sure that Don movie is also copied from some Hollywood movie, I’m yet to identify the source.
Don movie is nostalgic for me as there is a very interesting story how I manage to watch this movie first time. Don movie is famous for the song “Khaike Paan Banaras Wala…” and I happen to be a Banarasi so it was my strong desire to watch this movie at any cost. I’ve heard this song over and over again on “Vivid Bharati” and on my Phillips Radio. There was no TV in my town those days, Cable was a distant dream, Satellite was a fiction and Internet was beyond the comprehension of human brain.
It used to be very common in those days that on any festival they screened Bollywood hits on big canvas on open roads or fields. Most often it used to be main road where they used to erect a giant white screen and projected the movies from one side. The beauty of this open air theater was that you could watch movies from the both sides of screen and thus able to accommodate a large audience.
So hearing that I’ve a chance to watch my favorite song, not the movie though, I hatched a plan to escape in the night to watch it.
On the night of screening I, along with my few relatives and friends, escaped the town and headed for the road on the outskirt of the town where Don was being screened. It was quite a long walk or rather run, we almost ran in the excitement, may be 2-3 miles or so. When I arrived at the open air theater, movie has already started but song was not yet played. I managed to grab few bricks, stacked them together on the road and made a comfortable seat and enjoyed watching the movie for rest of night while soaring my arse on Bricks.
Back home my parents have almost started a town wide hunt for me :) as I disappeared without informing them.
That is how I watched Amithab Bachchan’s Don movie and the Song “Khaike Paan Banaras Wala..”. That was quite an unforgettable experience ;)
5) Action Replayy (2010) copied from Back To Future
Last week I saw Action Replayy on TV which turned out to be a pathetic and utterly disappointing plagiarism of Back To Future movie.
Fed up with parents, the son decides to go back in the past and fix his parent’s marriage life. Exactly same story line as Back to Future.
I liked the few songs in Action Replayy but I had to watch this movie in 3 days as I can’t watch such boring long movies for 3 hours in one stretch and before this movie finished I had to give up watching.
List Of Bollywood Movies Copied From Hollywood
| # | Copied Bollywood Movie (Release Year) | Hollywood Movie from which Bollywood Movie is copied (Release Year) |
| 1 | Sholay (1975) | The Magnificent Seven (1960) |
| 2 | Peepli Live (2010) | Invitation To A Suicide (2005) |
| 3 | Satte Pe Satta (1982) | Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) |
| 4 | Heyy Babyy (2007)
They say it’s remake, I say it’s fucking ripoff. |
Three Men and a Baby (1987)
This movie was itself based on 1985 French movie Three Men and a Cradle. |
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