Bollywood movies that were remade in Tamil, Telugu & Malayalam

In the past few years, the South film industry has seen rapid growth in its box office numbers. The audience is preferring to watch South cinema over Bollywood movies, making films like RRR, Kantara, and K.G.F blockbuster hits of 2022. Interestingly, as much as people are now drawn to South cinema, there was a time when Bollywood movies even ruled the South space and many remakes were made of Bollywood movies. 

Just how South films are being remade in Hindi currently, Bollywood also has a list of films that were remade in the South. This trend is as old as the ‘60s. Amitabh Bachchan’s blockbusters were most popularly used for remakes in the South. Most of these films starred Rajinikanth in the lead role. Check out our list of hit Bollywood movies that were remade in the South.

Bollywood movies remade in South: 3 Idiots, Andhadhun & more

Andhadhun (2018)

Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Andhadhun is one of the most recent Bollywood movies to be remade in the South. The Sriram Raghavan directorial was released in 2018 and now has been remade in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil language. The Telugu remake was titled Maestro (2021), the Malayalam remake was titled Bhramam (2021), and the Tamil Remake was titled Andhagan (2022). 

Munna Bhai M.B.B.S (2003)

Rajkumar Hirani’s Munna Bhai M.B.B.S starring Sanjay Dutt was an instant hit at the box office. The National Award-winning film was remade as Vasool Raja MBBS in Tamil, Shankar Dada MBBS in Telugu, and Uppi Dada MBBS in Kannada. The Tamil and Telugu remakes were released in 2004. Its Kannada remake hit the screens in 2006. 

A Wednesday (2008)

Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah starrer A Wednesday was remade in Tamil and Telegu. The Tamil version was titled Unnaipol Oruvan and was released in 2009. The Telugu version titled Eenadu also released in the same year. 

Jab We Met (2007)

Imtiaz Ali gave the audience one of their favourite on-screen couples with Jab We Met. Starring Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, the romantic drama went on to be remade in the South. The film was remade in Tamil in 2009, two years after the original film’s release. The Tamil version titled Kanden Kadhalai did not, however, get the same kind of response. 

Dabangg (2010)

Salman Khan shares a great camaraderie with several South stars including Chiranjeevi, Rajinikanth and more. Pawan Kalyan stepped into the character of Chulbul Pandey in the Telugu version of Dabangg. The film was titled Gabbar Singh. In Tamil, the film was remade as Osthe in 2011. 

Band Baaja Baaraat (2010)

Band Baaja Baaraat marked Ranveer Singh’s entry into Bollywood, and instantly became a fan favourite. Also starring Anushka Sharma, the Bollywood film was officially remade in Tamil in 2014. The film was titled Aha Kalyanam. The Telugu version featuring Siddharth and Samantha Ruth Prabhu was titled Jabardasth. 

Delhi Belly (2011)

Imran Khan, Vir Das, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Poorna Jagannathan and Shenaz Treasurywala starrer Delhi Belly was remade in Tamil as Settai. The film was released in 2013 and starred Arya, Hansika Motwani, Anjali, Santhanam and Premji. 

Kahaani (2012) 

Vidya Balan gave a stellar performance in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani. The film was loved by fans so much that it even got a sequel in 2016. Not just a sequel, the Bollywood film was later remade in Telugu as Anaamika starring Nayanthara.

3 Idiots (2009)

Loosely based on Chetan Bhagat’s novel Five Point Someone, 3 Idiots starred Aamir Khan, R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi in key roles. The film was one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of Hindi cinema. Soon, South filmmaker Shankar remade the film in Tamil as Nanban, starring Vijay, Jiiva, and Srikanth in lead roles.

Love Aaj Kal (2009)

Another Imtiaz Ali directorial that was remade in the South was the Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer rom-com Love Aaj Kal. Pawan Kalyan and Trisha starred in the titular roles in the Telugu version of the film.

OMG – Oh My God (2012)

Paresh Rawal, Mithun Chakraborty, Govind Namdeo and Akshay Kumar starrer comedy-drama was a hit amongst the audience. Kumar was lauded for his role as God in the film. Three years after its release, the film was remade in the south. The Telugu remake was titled Gopala Gopala and released in 2015, and the Kannada remake was released in 2016 with the title Mukunda Murari.

Aashiqui 2 (2013)

In 2013, a fresh pairing of Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor was seen in Aashiqui 2. The blockbuster Bollywood movie got a Telugu remake with Sachiin J Joshi and Nazia Hussain. The film was titled Nee Jathaga Nenundali. 

All Images: Courtesy IMDb