10 Copycat Indian Movies That Ripped Off Hollywood

2. Nayakan (1987)

Ripped Off: The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2

In this case, the plagiarism is not of a whole film, but a single character arc as Nayakan outrageously copies the Vito Corleone story arc that takes place throughout the first two Godfather films.

Mani Rathnam is one of the greatest Filmmakers in the world, not just India. He is arguably the greatest filmmaker in the history of Tamil Cinema and has, in many ways, revolutionized the South Indian Cinema. His film Nayakan is considered to be one of the greatest Tamil movies ever made.

Nayakan takes a lot of story elements from both The Godfather films in different ways. It tells the life story of a boy named Sakthivel from when he was a child to his death as an adult. Sakthivel's life is almost an exact mirror of that of Vito Corleone: both men leave their homes and enter an unfamiliar environment when they were kids. Both men grow up in a neighborhood that is mostly the same ethnicity as them. Both men become the leaders of their community by assassinating an oppressive figure. Both men fall into a life of crime and become Godfathers. Both men lose their son because of the business.

It might be a rip-off, but Nayakan still stands on its own as an Indian masterpiece and classic and there is enough originality to be proud of.