Boney Kapoor explains why the Vikram Vedha and Jersey remakes failed: “They are simply copy-pasted”

Boney Kapoor provides his perspective on the failure of Bollywood's attempts to remake South blockbusters.

Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Boney Kapoor

Producer Boney Kapoor spoke candidly about the failure of the Jersey and Vikram Vedha Hindi remakes as he's gearing up for the release of Mili, which would hit the theatres on November 4. If you're not aware, Mili is an official remake of the 2019 Malayalam film Helen, which stars Janhvi, Boney's daughter, in the lead.

Boney explained to the Times of India what went wrong with Vikram Vedha and Jersey. “The fact that some of the South film remakes in Hindi are just copy-pasted is one of the reasons why they don't work. As in the cases of both films, even the titles are retained the same as the originals. To appeal to the Hindi audience, it is necessary to include the North Indian nativity in remakes. You have to make a film which will be accepted pan-India.”

Vikram Vedha, an official Hindi adaptation of the Tamil film of the same name starring R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles, is based on the Indian folktale Vikram aur Betaal. It centres on a tough cop who hunts a notorious mobster, and the latter assists him in doing so by telling a series of stories that lead to perplexing moral difficulties. It was released on September 30 and finished with a domestic box office haul of Rs 77.51 crore nett.

The 2022 film by Shahid Kapoor, which is a remake of the 2019 movie of the same name and same director (Gowtam Tinnanuri), falls somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. The scene-by-scene parallels are unavoidable if you have seen the original film, which starred Nani. The usual sports movie, where you would anticipate loud clapping and cheers after every six and a four, is not Jersey. It is a serious movie that explores topics that go beyond what first appears to be the case.

Boney is known for remaking films in Bollywood and regional cinemas. The Tamil version of Amitabh Bachchan's Pink, starring Ajith Kumar's Nerkonda Paarvai, was produced by him. He even adapted several Tamil and Telugu blockbusters in Hindi.

For instance, Mahesh Babu's Pokiri was remade with Salman Khan as Wanted. Okkadu was adapted as Arjun Kapoor's Tevar. Judaai, starring Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, and Urmila Matondkar, is a remake of the Telugu superhit Subhalagnam. Additionally, he was responsible for Veetla Vishesham's commercial success. Directed by RJ Balaji and NJ Saravanan, this one, is inspired by the 2018 Hindi film, Badhaai Ho.

In Mili, on the other hand, Janhvi portrays the title character, Mili Nautiyal, a driven young woman who works at a fast-food joint after graduating from nursing school. She is faced with the task of surviving after getting stuck in the food joint's freezer section. What follows is the life-changing journey of survival. Both Mili and Helen are inspired by true stories.

This will be Janhvi's first association with her producer-father, Boney Kapoor. Mili will be released in theatres, alongside the Sonakshi Sinha-Huma Qureshi film Double XL and Katrina Kaif's Phone Bhoot.

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