‘Hera Pheri was a frame-to-frame copy,’ says Priyadarshan as he reveals ’90 percent of South remakes flop’: ‘Nobody wrote the dialogues, they are all translated’

Priyadarshan admitted that most South remakes in Hindi fail because they don’t connect with the sensitivities of the Hindi-speaking audience. He explained, “90% of remakes are flops because many South films, which are remade in Hindi, look like South films; they don’t look like Hindi films.”

Sharing how he brings authenticity to his Hindi films, the director recalled how he grew up watching a lot of 70s and 80s Hindi cinema and incorporated that into his filmmaking. “Manichitrathazhu and Bhool Bhulaiyaa both have different cultures and backdrop, you feel Bhool Bhulaiyaa is a Hindi film, you don’t feel like you are watching a South film,” he said.

Speaking further about his remake process, Priyadarshan added, “I never copy the same film, except the one film which was made frame-to-frame, same as the original was Hera Pheri. Nobody wrote the dialogues in Hindi for that film; they are all translated.” Hera Pheri is the remake of the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking, directed by Siddique–Lal.

On the subject of sequels, the filmmaker admitted that he sees them largely as a commercial exercise rather than a creative one. “I don’t like sequels, I don’t believe in them because the whole problem is once a film is made and it has reached its zenith, so people’s expectations increase, and you will never be able to satisfy that. So, it is just a business. You can’t put your heart and soul and make a film.”