Guide to Haider: Bollywood films inspired by literary gems

Priyamm Dangi

 Feb 12, 2023

2 States

Director Abhishek Verman adapted Chetan Bhagat’s novel 2 States into a film of the same name, with Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor in lead roles

Haider

Vishal Bhardwaj’s 2014 film Haider - featuring Shahid Kapoor and Tabu in lead roles - is inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet

7 Khoon Maaf

Released in 2011, Vishal Bhardwaj-directed thriller 7 Khoon Maaf - starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas - was an adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s Susanna’s Seven Husbands

3 idiots

Rajkumar Hirani’s 2009 film 3 idiots - starring featuring Amir Khan, R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi - is loosely based on Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone

The Namesake

Mira Nair’s 2006 film The Namesake - starring Irrfan Khan and Tabu - was an adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s book of the same name

Parineeta

Vidya Balan made her Bollywood debut in Pradeep Sarkar-directed Parineeta in 2005. It was an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1914 novel of the same name

The Blue Umbrella

Released in 2005, The Blue Umbrella - starring Pankaj Kapur and Shreya Sharma - was an adaptation of a Ruskin Bond book. The film was directed by Vishal Bhardwaj

Maqbool

Starring Irrfan Khan, Pankaj Kapur, Nasseruddin Shah and Tabu, Vishal Bhardwaj-directed Maqbool (2003) was loosely based on Shakespaere’s Macbeth

Devdas

Devadas by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee has had multiple adaptations. The latest one was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2002 film - starring Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit

Gaban

Starring Sunil Dutt and Sadhana, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s 1966 directorial, Gaban, was an adaptation of Munshi Premchand’s classic of the same name

Guide

Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman’s Guide (1965), directed by Vijay Anand, was based on RK Narayan’s 1958 novel, The Guide