Official Bollywood Remakes Are All the Rage

Sidharth Malhotra in Brothers' (Courtesy of Fox International Productions)

By Nyay Bhushan

Lionsgate's Bollywood debut Brothers, a remake of the studio's 2011 martial arts drama Warrior, is yet another sign that official remakes are gaining ground in India and replacing unauthorized rip-offs.

Brothers was first announced last year as a co-production between Lionsgate and Endemol India's banner Eyedentity Motion Pictures. Leading Bollywood banner Dharma Productions later boarded the project followed by Fox Star Studios, which is handling distribution for India and overseas.

According to Rentrak figures, Brothers collected a total worldwide opening haul of about $13 million, dominated by its India take of about $11.2 million. The film landed in the 10th spot in Rentrak's top 10 international releases for the weekend of Aug. 15. Clearly, the mixed reviews the film received didn't seem to dampen its opening results.

Watch the trailer for Brothers:'

That's good news for Hollywood as well as Bollywood, since Brothers is one of a new wave of legit remakes that are looking to change the rip-off culture of a certain portion of the Indian industry. In the 1980s and 90s, unofficial " and unattributed " Hollywood "remakes" seemed to dominate the landscape.

With films like Brothers, Bollywood is looking to mix the best of Hollywood storytelling with local talent and do so in a way that makes money for both sides.

The original Warrior stars Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton as estranged brothers and mixed martial arts fighters who use the ring to work through their troubled relationship with each other and their father (Nick Nolte). In the Bollywood remake, Edgerton and Hardy's roles are played by Indian stars Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra, with veteran actor Jackie Shroff as the father.

Related: 'Brothers': Film Review

"If you can imagine Warrior with an erotic, booze-soaked dance number and double the love scenes, then you'll be able to wrap your head around the Indian version of the film," said The Hollywood Reporter in its review while praising Brothers for adding local tweaks to the original.

But in the interest of making it locally relevant, Brothers deviates in parts from the original with some typical Bollywood elements. These include lengthy flashback scenes and a saucy song and dance sequence featuring a cameo by actress Kareena Kapoor Khan. Known as an "item song" in Bollywood parlance, these are aimed at potentially boosting a film's appeal and are frequently featured in major titles.