The South Film Industry has always been an inspiration for the Hindi film industry. Since the Seventies, remakes have been the staple diet for Bollywood. Most of the famous Bollywood movies are based on South Indian Movies. It does not mean that Bollywood is not creative enough. There are Bollywood movies that are remade in the South film industry as well. However, today let’s check out the list of South Indian movies that are remade in Bollywood.
1) Virasat – Thevar Magan (Tamil)
This movie was remade after the huge hit of the Tamil film “Thevar Magan”. “Virasat” is a Full Action-Drama film that is penned by Kamal Haasan. “Virasat” received sixteen nominations at the 43rd Filmfare Awards. The blockbuster movie features Anil Kapoor, tabu, and late Amrish Puri in lead roles.
• IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
• Cast: Anil Kapoor, Late Amrish Puri, Pooja Batra, Govind Namdeo
• Release date: 30 May 1997
• Genre: Action Drama
• Watch On: Zee5
2) Sadma – Moondram Pirai (Tamil)
The film was a remake of Mahendra’s own 1982 Tamil film “Moondram Pirai”. Combo of Romance and Drama, this movie stars Kamal and Sridevi in lead roles. Even though this movie commercially failed, Sridevi’s performance was widely praised.
• IMDb Ratings: 8.4/10
• Cast: Sridevi Kapoor, Kamal Hasan, Gulshan Grover
• Release date: 08 Jul 1983
• Genre: Romance Drama
• Watch On: Prime Video
3) Biwi No 1 – Sathi Leelavati (Tamil)
This movie is a remake of the 1995 Tamil film “Sathi Leelavathi”. “Biwi No.1” is a Comedy- Classical Drama film produced by Vashu Bhagnani and directed by David Dhawan. The film was remade in India in 1999, and it featured Karishma Kapoor, Sushmita Sen, Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, and Tabu.
• IMDb Ratings: 5.7/10
• Cast: Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Karishma Kapoor, Sushmita Sen
• Release date: 28 May 1999
• Genre: Comedy- Classical Drama
• Watch On: Disney+Hotstar
4) Judaai – Subhalagnam (Telugu)
“Judaai” is a melodrama comedy film that is the remake of the Telugu film “Subhalagnam”. This movie is directed by Raj Kanwar and featured Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, and Urmilla Matondkar in the lead roles. The film was widely praised for the performances of the actors.
• IMDb Ratings: 6.1/10
• Cast: Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, Urmilla Matondkar
• Release date: 01 Feb 1997
• Genre: Melodrama Comedy
• Watch On: Zee5
5) Judwaa – Hello Brother (Malayalam)
The film is a remake of the Telugu film “Hello Brother” (1994). This action-comedy film was produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by David Dhawan. The original South Indian film was inspired by the Hong Kong action-comedy film “Twin Dragons” (1992).
• IMDb Ratings: 6.1/10
• Cast: Salman Khan, Karishma, Kadar Khan
• Release date: Feb 07, 1997
• Genre: Action Comedy
• Watch On: Disney+Hotstar
6) Hera Pheri – Ramji Rao Speaking (Malayalam)
This movie follows the storyline of a TV show “See The Man Run”. Later, it was copied by the Malayalam Film Industry in the name of “Ramji Rao Speaking”. After that, Bollywood remade it as well with the name of “Hera Pheri”. It is an all-time favorite movie for all movie lovers.
• IMDb Ratings: 7/10
• Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal
• Release date: Mar 31, 2000
• Genre: Action Comedy
• Watch On: Prime Video
7) Saathiya – Alaipayuthey (Tamil)
“Saathiya” is a romantic drama film produced by Mani Ratnam and Yash Chopra and directed by Shaad Ali. With Shah Rukh Khan and Tabu in special appearances, we see Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji in lead roles. This movie was one of the best romantic movies in India.
• IMDb Ratings: 6.8/10
• Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Rani Mukherji, Shah Rukh Khan, Tanuja
• Release date: Dec 20, 2002
• Genre: Romantic Drama
• Watch On: Prime Video
8) Nayak – Mudhalvan (Tamil)
Applauding the performances of Kapoor and Puri, critics gave mixed reviews to “Nayak”. People clapped at the performances of the cast and special effects. This movie is a re-creation of a Tamil-language film “Mudhalvan” that is directed by S. Shankar in Bollywood.
• IMDb Ratings: 7.8/10
• Cast: Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Rani Mukherji
• Release date: Sep 07, 2001
• Genre: Action Drama
• Watch On: Disney+ Hotstar
9) Paheli – Nagamandala (Kannada)
This fantasy film is a remake of the Kannada language film “Nagamandala”. Interestingly, the working title of the movie was “Ghost Ka Dost”. However, later it changed to “Paheli”. This movie was India’s certified entry to the 2006 Oscars.
• IMDb Ratings: 6.5/10
• Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukherji, Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan
• Release date: 24 Jun 2005
• Genre: Drama Fantasy
• Watch On: Netflix
10) Swades – Chigurida Kanasu (Kannada)
The film was well-thought-out and was ahead of its time. Shahrukh’s presentation in this film is one of the finest performances of his profession. The film was produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. Swades is inspired by the Kannada novel “Chigurida Kanasu”.
• IMDb Ratings: 8.2/10
• Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Gayatri Joshi
• Release date: 17 Dec 2004
• Genre: Drama
• Watch On: Prime Video
11) Garam Masala – Boeing Boeing (Malayalam)
This film has been regarded as one of the best Bollywood films and has gained a cult following. It is a remake of Priyadarshan’s own 1985 film “Boeing Boeing”. Akshay Kumar was awarded best actor in a Comic Role for the film “Garam Masala”.
• IMDb Ratings: 6.7/10
• Cast: Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Paresh Rawal
• Release date: 03 Nov 2005
• Genre: Comedy
• Watch On: Disney+Hotstar
12) Bhool Bhulaiyaa – Manichitrathazhu (Malayalam), Chandramukhi (Tamil)
“Bhool Bhulaiyaa” is a psychological horror comedy film produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar and directed by Priyadarshan. The film was a vast profitable success and received universal critical acclaim. It also attained cult status in Hindi cinema.
• IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
• Cast: Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Shiney Ahuja, Ameesh Patel, Paresh Rawal
• Release date: Oct 12, 2007
• Genre: Psychological Horror Comedy
• Watch On: Netflix
13) Ghajini – Ghajini (Tamil)
This is a remake of Murugadoss’s own 2005 Tamil film of the same name. “Ghajini” is an action thriller film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss. It turned into the highest-grossing Indian film of the year in 2008. Besides that, it is also the foremost Bollywood film to cross the ₹100 crore mark.
• IMDb Ratings: 7.3/10
• Cast: Amir Khan, Asim, Jiah Khan
• Release date: Dec 25, 2008
• Genre: Action thriller
• Watch On: Zee5
14) Drishyam – Drishya (Kannada), Drushyam (Telugu), Papanasam (Tamil)
The film is a remake of the 2013 Malayalam-language film. “Drishyam” was directed by Nishikant Kamat and was jointly produced by Ajit Andhare, Abhishek Pathak, and Kumar Mangat Pathak. It grossed ₹1,110.5 million worldwide and ₹938.5 million in India.
• IMDb Ratings: 8.2/10
• Cast: Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran, Tabu, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor
• Release date: Jul 31, 2015
• Genre: Thriller
• Watch On: Disney+Hotstar
15) Rowdy Rathore – Vikramarkudu (Telugu)
A remake of the 2006 Telugu blockbuster “Vikramarkudu” is based on an original story written by K. V. Vijayendra Prasad. The Hindi-language action-comedy film was produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Prabhu Deva. The film was declared a blockbuster at the box office.
• IMDb Ratings: 5.7/10
• Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha
• Release date: Jun 01, 2012
• Genre: Action Comedy
• Watch On: Netflix
