The reason lakhs were floored by Malar (played by Sai Pallavi in the Malayalam film Premam ) had little to do with her couture choices, or her facial features. It was the breathtaking novelty of seeing an actress devoid of the pretensions of cinema. Here was a woman, pimples and all, shorn of the artifices idealised by pop culture. But it appears that the Telugu makers of Premam have somehow failed to decipher the appeal of Malar.
The alarm bells were first sounded when a leaked photo from the sets of the Telugu film showed Shruti Haasan (playing Malar’s character) looking as heroines generally do in films. Social media, apparently only filled with ‘Malar fans’, took offence. If the makers thought that the worst was over, they were in for a rude shock when the film’s teaser was released recently. The director of the remake, Chandoo Mondeti, has previously gone on record stating that the actress was chosen for her star appeal, and yet, it appears to me that it may have been a better idea to replace one of the other two main female characters. Celine’s character may have been best suited, but in failing to comprehend the nature of Malar’s charm, the makers do appear to have lost the plot.
While on plot, this debacle may warrant reflection on the kind of films that are best suited for remakes. Over the years, many Tamil remakes have worked:
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An actor once told me that even if you hired the same actors and technicians, there was no guarantee that you would reproduce the same effect. “You could definitely say this about
Perhaps, it’s also worth noticing that often, the ones raging over these remakes are those in love with the original. Chandramukhi may have been a colossal hit, but fans of Manichitrathazhu didn’t think it deserved to be. Papanasam may have been a hit, but fans of Drishyam didn’t think Kamal’s performance at the end exuded the same intensity as Mohanlal’s. It’s fascinating how criticism of a remake could potentially have a lot to do with the viewer’s experience or the lack of it with the original. There has already been quite some concern about Akira before its release. As you can imagine, much of it came from fans of Mouna Guru , the original. However, what if the wide consumption of the original isn’t… wide enough?