A superhit director made the same film thrice in three different languages with three different superstars and all ended up being hits.
Remakes are nothing new in world cinema. In India, particularly, remaking films from different languages is a trend as old as films themselves. Filmmakers have remaking other directors’ films from different languages for decades. And then there are some directors who remake their own films in Hindi. But above them all was one man, who remade his own film two times, in different languages, and scored a box office superhit each time.
The director who made the same film three times
Siddique, the popular filmmaker from Malayalam cinema, was known for making comedies all through the 90s and 2000s, initially with his co-director Lal and later solo. In 2010, he made a masala comedy titled Bodyguard, starring Dileep in the title role, along with Nayanthara in her Malayalam comeback. The film released on Pongal weekend and was a runaway hit, grossing over Rs 50 crore, a huge sum for a Malayalam film.
Encouraged by this, Siddique made the same film again, this time in Tamil. The Tamil version was made under the title Kaavalan. This version released exactly one year later, on Pongal 2011, starring Thalapathy Vijay ad Asin in the lead roles. The film was a blockbuster, grossing over Rs 100 crore worldwide.
But Siddique was not done. Later that year, he remade this film again, again with the title of Bodyguard. The Hindi remake starred Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor and was released in August 2011. A huge hit globally, the film earned Rs 253 crore worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films ever.
Siddique’s subsequent career
Siddique had had a stellar career prior to this triple success. Having started as an assistant to Faazil, he soon began directing films as part of the director Siddique-Lal, before branching out individually when Lal turned to acting. After Bodyguard, Siddique further saw success with films like Bhaskar the Rascal, which he remade in Tamil as well. However, in 2020, he faced the failure of his film Big Brother. The Mohanlal and Arbaaz Khan-starrer made only Rs 6 crore.
Siddique’s untimely death
Siddique’s plans to make another film after Big Brother were stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic. And as it turned out, it was to be his final film. On August 7, 2023, Siddique suffered a heart attack and was admitted to a hospital in Kochi. He underwent treatment for liver-related ailments but passed away the following day at the age of 63. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.
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 "Siddique with Suriya and Vijay")
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