Raja Sen writes an amazing ode to the copycats, especially to Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay known for shot-by-shot unauthorized remake of hollywood films in Hindi, is on the hot seat. His recent flick, Zinda seems to be an outright rip-off from famous Korean flick, Oldboy.
I read about Oldboy on Hemanth’s Instant Kaapi. Someone had commented there about Sanjay Gupta re-making Oldboy as Zinda. Seems like this has come to the limelight, finally. Even if Sanjay Gupta originally concieves a film, the next time, people would be trying hard to find a similar match from the hollywood world.
This one is a well rounded column. A must read. From the column, Why I won’t watch Zinda[Via – Sunny] –
Cinema belongs to no one, Mr Gupta, and when we watch a film that excites us, we want to share. There is a school of thought which actually says that you are being altruistic, by remaking films most Indians have never seen, and ‘bringing them good cinema.’ I disagree vehemently. When Tarantino is thrilled by something like Iron Monkey, he doesn’t make a version of it himself, he just makes sure enough people in the US know about it when he re-releases it.
It would be incredible if you pioneered such efforts here in India, ensuring people get to see quirky, incredible, violent, earth-shattering films in theatres, instead of just the standard Hollywood popcorn fare. Get Sanju to redub them in his groovy voice, have rocking press-conferences, talk about why the movie is so special. Fans will freak out. I’ll wear a ‘Sanjay Gupta Rocks’ t-shirt, I swear.
kirukkal.com 