Released in 2018, the Tamil film ‘Ratsasan’ is considered one of the best thrillers made in the country in recent years. Many non-Tamil speakers also enjoyed watching the film, but remaking it in Hindi wasn’t a bad idea at all.Pooja Films took the opportunity to remake the film with Akshay Kumar as the main character. decided to The Hindi remake is called ‘Cuttputlli’ and was directed by Ranjit M. Tewari, who previously worked on films like ‘Lucknow Central’ (2017) and ‘Bell Bottom’ (2021).
Arjan Sethi (Akshay Kumar) is a writer struggling to make a film out of a script he wrote about a serial killer. He has met several producers in the Punjabi film industry, but none agree to allow it. One of his producers even advises him to make his comedy Romantic. Arjan’s brother-in-law, his Narinder Singh (Chandrachur Singh), advises him to put his screenwriter dream on hold and get a job in the police department. Arjan’s late father was a decorated police officer, so Narinder says it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to secure his job at the police station. When Arjan starts working as a cop, Kasauli is terrorized by a serial killer who kidnaps and ruthlessly kills school-going girls.
‘Cuttputlli’ not only serves as a good example of how not to remake a movie, but it also offers a glimpse into some of the issues currently plaguing the Hindi film industry. Besides being the director of ‘Ratsasan’, Ram Kumar had also written the screenplay for the film. The script was arguably the film’s greatest strength. The adapted script (Tushar Trivedi, Aseem Chhabra) picks up some plot his points from the original film but omits some key scenes. The script also adds a number of poorly constructed gags. Speaking of writing credits, here he can make two interesting points. Tushar Trivedi is credited in his opening credits “Screenplay”. Then after a few reels, Aseem Chhabra’s name will appear on the screen. He is credited with writing the “script and dialogue”. The original film’s screenwriter (Ram Kumar) is not even mentioned. In fact, we never see the makers acknowledge (in the opening or closing credits) the fact that “Cuttputlli” is an official remake of “Ratsasan.” After seeing “Cutputtli,” the “Ratsasan” team may be happy that their name is not used in the film. increase. The adapted script is pathetic to say the least.
The original film was set in Chennai and was shot extensively in different parts of the city, which helped me get used to the environment of the film. ‘Cuttputlli’ is set in Kasauli, a small city in Himachalhi Pradesh, but the majority of the film is shot in London. Most of the films produced by Vash/Jackie Bagnani and Deepshka Deshmukh, such as Dil Jungli, Kamoshi, Ghost, Jawani Jahneman, Bell Bottom, Katputri In London as it was mostly filmed. As you can imagine, the idea was to receive a sizeable rebate from the UK government. In this film, 56-year-old Akshay Kumar plays his 36-year-old and calls out 41-year-old Hrishitaa Bhatt. Didi (sister). ‘Ratsasan’ boasted a great casting. This is one of the weak points of this movie. Personally, I don’t mind if an actor is playing a character that is much younger than their actual age, as long as they fit the role. Shahid Kapoor in ‘Kabir Singh’ is a good example. Even with gorgeous makeup, Akshay doesn’t look 20 years younger than he actually is.
There has been much debate as to why Hindi films do poorly at the box office. Watch “Cuttputlli” and you’ll see why. Filmmakers stop making projects (shoot in countries and locations just because they get big rebates, cast actors just because they get dates, etc.) and make movies backed by good scripts. The day they start focusing on making, they will get their jobs. The audience is back. If the movie can’t be improved, it’s better to stick with the original material. ‘Rakshasudu’, the Telugu remake of ‘Ratsasan’ did just that and that’s why it worked. ‘Cuttputlli’ is a terrifying, terrifying remake of a well-made thriller.
