Bollywood's desi knockoffs of Hollywood

Hollywood makes a fantasy hit. A few years later, Bollywood makes its own version. Same idea, more songs, way less budget.

Most people know Hari Puttar (2008). But that was nowhere near the first time. Indian cinema has been making desi copies of Hollywood hits for over 60 years: Superman, Godzilla, Tarzan, James Bond, Dracula, even Mary Poppins.

Some were hits. Most were gloriously bad. Here are the ones worth knowing.

India had more than one Superman

Superman is the superhero Indian cinema copied most. At least three films took the name as it is.

Superman (1960, Hindi). One of the earliest, usually credited to director Anant Thakur. It came out 18 years before the famous 1978 Hollywood film.

Superman (1980, Telugu). This one stars NTR and Jaya Prada, and it's an unofficial adaptation of the 1978 American Superman. The twist: he gets his powers from Lord Hanuman. So the chest logo has an H, not an S. Everyone still calls him Superman.

Superman (1987, Hindi). Puneet Issar wears the cape here. It's the one most people mean when they say "Indian Superman". The film is widely said to have borrowed flying shots from the Hollywood version.

Bonus: Dariya Dil (1988). Not a Superman film at all. But in the song "Tu Mera Superman", Govinda and Kimi Katkar suddenly show up as superheroes and fly. No explanation. Govinda is Superman. Kimi Katkar wears what looks like a Spider-Man suit (the credits call her Spiderwoman), and she can somehow fly too. The clip later went viral, and the song is now far more famous than the film.

Magic, genies and wishes

Hari Puttar (2008) → Harry Potter. The name says it all, though the name is about all it took. The story, a boy left home alone who fights off two burglars, is much closer to Home Alone. Warner Bros still took the makers to court over the title. They lost: in September 2008 the Delhi High Court said Warner had waited too long and that people could tell the two apart.

Aladin (2009) → Aladdin. Riteish Deshmukh as Aladin and Amitabh Bachchan as the genie. Big stars, small box office.

Aao Wish Karein (2009) → Big. A kid makes a wish to grow up and wakes up as Aftab Shivdasani. It's loosely based on the 1988 Tom Hanks film.

God Tussi Great Ho (2008) → Bruce Almighty. Salman Khan gets God's powers for ten days. Amitabh Bachchan plays God. The premise is very, very familiar.

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic (2008) → Mary Poppins? Rani Mukerji plays an angel sent to look after four orphans. Director Kunal Kohli said his story was entirely different, but reviewers still called it an Indian Mary Poppins.

Monsters and aliens

Gogola (1966) → Godzilla. Yes, India had its own Godzilla. Gogola rises from the sea and wrecks Bombay with brute strength and fire breath, just like the Japanese original. The monster was a big suit with men inside it.

The best part? Right before the hero faces the monster, the cast breaks into a song: "Nacho, nacho, Gogola". Sadly, the film is now lost. Only a poster, some lobby cards, the soundtrack and the censor script survive.

Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) → E.T. A boy, a friendly alien, a secret friendship. Many people have pointed out how close it is to E.T., though director Rakesh Roshan denied being inspired by it. Bollywood added romance: Hrithik's Rohit is a young man with the mind of a child, and the alien's powers cure him.

Fun twist: some argue both films trace back to Satyajit Ray. In 1967, Ray wrote a script called The Alien about a friendly alien and a boy in Bengal. Columbia Pictures was involved, copies went around Hollywood, but it was never made. When E.T. came out in 1982, Ray said it could not have been made without his script. Spielberg has denied any link.

Bollywood loved Hollywood's ghosts

Pyaar Ka Saaya (1991) → Ghost. An uncredited remake of the 1990 hit Ghost, with Rahul Roy fresh off Aashiqui. It came out less than a year and a half after the original.

Hello Brother (1999) → Ghost + Heart Condition. Salman Khan gets shot, his heart goes into Arbaaz Khan's body, and only Arbaaz can see his ghost. It came via the Malayalam film Aayushkalam (1992), which was itself built on those two American films. A copy of a copy.

Hum Tum Aur Ghost (2010) → Ghost Town. Arshad Warsi plays a man who can suddenly see ghosts, and they all want favours from him.

Robots, shape-shifters and time machines

Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani (2002) → The Terminator + The Matrix. Several scenes were lifted from both films. Armaan Kohli plays a shape-shifting snake who also borrows moves from Neo and the Terminator. It's widely called one of the worst films Bollywood ever made, which is exactly why people still watch it.

Action Replayy (2010) → Back to the Future. Aditya Roy Kapur travels back in time to fix his parents' marriage, with Akshay Kumar playing his dad. Director Vipul Shah says it's based on a Gujarati play of the same name. If it sounds like Marty McFly's story anyway, that's because it is.

Tarzan swings into India

Tarzan was a Bollywood favourite, and nobody bothered changing the name.

Tarzan Comes to Delhi (1965). Wrestler Dara Singh plays Tarzan. The title alone is a whole movie.

Tarzan and King Kong (1965). No giant ape here. The King Kong name most likely points to the real-life wrestler, not the Hollywood film.

Tarzan Aur Jadui Chirag (1966), or Tarzan and the Magic Lamp. Tarzan meets Aladdin, Bollywood style. He finds a lamp, and a genie flies him through the clouds.

Adventures of Tarzan (1985). Hemant Birje swings through the Indian jungle in this one, and it turned out to be a surprise hit, one of the ten biggest Hindi films of the year.

Tarzan Ki Beti (2002). Its sequel, with Birje back as Tarzan. Why stop at Tarzan when you can give him a daughter?

Desi James Bonds, from 116 to 777

Bond got copied even more often. Indian films used just about every agent number possible.

Gudachari 116 (1966, Telugu). The first spy film in Telugu cinema. It made Krishna so famous that people called him "Andhra James Bond". There's even a fellow spy called Agent 303.

Farz (1967). The Hindi remake of Gudachari 116. Jeetendra plays Agent 116, with flashy Bond-style action.

James Bond 777 (1971, Telugu). Krishna again, going one better than 007.

Agent Vinod (1977). Mahendra Sandhu as another desi spy on a Bond-style mission. It was a surprise hit.

Surakksha (1979). Mithun Chakraborty as Gunmaster G-9.

Bond 303 (1985). Jeetendra's turn as a desi Bond, with the number changed.

Mr. Bond (1992). Akshay Kumar, right down to the name.

Tamil cinema had its own too. Actor Jaishankar was nicknamed the "South Indian James Bond" for his spy and detective roles.

Horror: Dracula, Freddy and friends

Indian horror borrowed from Hollywood all the time. The Ramsay Brothers led the way.

Dracula, many times over. Bandh Darwaza (1990) is the Ramsays' caped Dracula, a vampire called Nevla. Then came Khooni Dracula (1992), Son of Dracula (1999), Dracula (1999) and Shaitani Dracula (2006). In Son of Dracula, the monster looks like a mini Nosferatu.

Two Freddy Kruegers. India made two copies of A Nightmare on Elm Street. The Ramsays started Mahakaal in 1988, but rival horror producer Mohan Bhakri beat them to it with Khooni Murda (1989). Mahakaal finally came out in February 1994, bladed glove and all.

Gehrayee → The Exorcist. Padmini Kolhapure plays the possessed girl, Linda Blair's role in the original.

Aatank (1996) → Jaws. Yes, Bollywood made its own shark thriller. Dharmendra fights the shark, and the film was stuck for years before it reached cinemas.

Bach Ke Zara (2008) → The Evil Dead. Complete with a Rakhi Sawant special song.

Papi Gudia (1996) → Child's Play. A killer doll, desi style, with Shakti Kapoor as the evil spirit inside it.

Agyaat (2009) → Predator. Ram Gopal Varma's take, and he never shows the creature on screen.

So, copy or tribute?

Call them knockoffs, call them desi remixes. Either way, these films show how badly Indian audiences wanted Hollywood's magic, long before Hollywood films were routinely dubbed into Hindi.

And honestly, a Superman powered by Hanuman is more original than half the reboots we get today.

A quick note on sources: details on old B-movies like Gogola and the 1960 Superman are thin, and some films are lost. Many of these "copies" were never officially confirmed, and I've said so where it matters. If you spot something wrong, tell me on Instagram.