10 Copycat Indian Movies That Ripped Off Hollywood
The highest form of flattery?
They say that nothing in entertainment is original nowadays. Many of today's Hollywood blockbusters are remakes or re-imaginings or sequels of already famous and established works. And on top of that, in recent times Disney has been able to remake their animated cartoon classics into live action films, such as Beauty and The Beast, Lion King , Aladdin and the upcoming Mulan.
Other studios have also tried to expand on already existing film series by creating spiritual sequels that also act as a reboot for newer and younger audiences, such as Star Wars, Jumanji,, and Creed. It's a time dominated by studios chasing brands and big bucks.
Many fans complain about this trend in Hollywood of remakes because they say that it brings nothing new to the table. But it could be worse. What if the writers and directors of these films were passing it off as original pieces of art? What if the the audience that these filmmakers were making movies for were not aware that the movie they are watching was a ripoff?
Because just as there has been a trend of big Hollywood Studios remaking their own previous successful films, there has also been a trend of Indian movie studios unofficially ripping off successful Hollywood films, and passing them off as original. You won't believe some of them...
10. Lisaa (2019)
Ripped Off: The Visit
Released in 2019, Lisaa tells the story of a young woman, who, along with her friend, goes to visit her estranged grandparents for the first time. Up to this point, Lisaa had never seen or spoken to her grandparents because her mother had eloped with her father without the blessing of her parents, thus causing a rift in the family.
When she gets there, things are not what they seem, and her grandparents act very weirdly. She soon finds out that the people she believed to be her grandparents are actually psychopathic killers, who killed her actual grandparents.
Does this sound familiar? It should because it is the exact same premise of The Visit by M. Night Shyamalan. Many of the same story elements from that film are in Lisaa, such as the twist ending of the grandparents not being her real grandparents.
This is a particularly odd one on the list, considering M. Night Shyamalan is of Indian descent and probably has a big market in India because of it.