Korean movies are identified for his or her range, excessive manufacturing worth, and consummate storytelling. From multi-layered characters to nail-biting plotlines, their affect is obvious in music, trend, movie, and tradition, setting a benchmark for inspiration, from Oscar wins to OTT dominance. Bollywood isn’t far behind both. Whether or not formally or loosely impressed, they bundle these international motion pictures with added masala (spice) to cater to the Indian viewers’s palate.
Whereas imitation could also be a honest type of flattery, there have been cases the place Indian followers have recognized similarities between their favourite South Korean and Indian movies, regardless of them not being official remakes.
A traditional instance is YRF’s musical smash Saiyaara (2025) directed by Mohit Suri. The plot chronicles Krish Kapoor (Ahaan Panday), a brash musician who kinds a deep reference to Vaani (Aneet Padda), a demure poet. The movie is alleged to be loosely primarily based on John H. Lee’s hit South Korean movie A Moment to Remember (2004), starring protagonists Chul-Soo (Jung Woo-sung) and Sujin (Son Ye-Jin). Whereas the plotline, character growth, and story ending aren’t equivalent, what caught viewers’ eyes was how each movies had a standard level of battle—early-onset Alzheimer’s. Each movies see the feminine lead growing the illness.
Though Saiyaara’s method and remedy differ story-wise from the Korean traditional, followers on platforms similar to Reddit have been actively calling out the duplicity of scenes, which acquired polarizing responses. A person commented, “Why can’t the makers market it as a remake as a substitute of insulting the viewers’s intelligence?” Whereas one other identified, “I checked the Korean film’s synopsis in Wikipedia and located it to be totally different from Saiyaara aside from the Alzheimer’s plot.”
Actually, in line with NDTV, Director Mohit Suri has additionally been beforehand taken cues from Korean movies and tailor-made them for an Indian viewers. Even his movie Ek Villain (2014) is loosely primarily based on neo-noir motion thriller A Bittersweet Life (2005), with each movies revolving round a morally ambiguous protagonist whose private decisions pit him towards his personal crime syndicate. It makes you wonder if Suri was a Ok-content fanatic earlier than it turned a worldwide phenomenon.
It additionally raises the query: the place does one draw the road between inspiration and plagiarism? When you let that thought marinate, right here’s a listing of Bollywood movies tailored from their Korean counterparts, although largely unofficially.
Radhe (2021)
Unofficial remake of: Outlaws (2017)
Impressed by the film Outlaws, a critically acclaimed R-rated thriller, Radhe is an motion movie directed by Prabhudeva. Each movies are about cops taking over drug-peddling miscreants. Salman Khan performs the eponymous Radhe, a heroic cop working in the direction of cleansing up the deteriorating drug scene in Mumbai. An Indianized model of the gritty Korean unique, Radhe acquired a blended reception from audiences, significantly criticizing the over-the-top characterization of the Indian police, which was extra plausible in Outlaws because of Ma Dong-seok’s (Don Lee) portrayal. The supporting solid was akin to caricatures, and the dated dialogue didn’t assist. Radhe relied closely on Salman’s star energy, resulting in poor pacing and unrealistic plotlines.
Zinda (2006)
Unofficial adaptation of: Oldboy (2003)
Winner of the Grand Prix on the 2004 Cannes Movie Competition and one of many biggest movies of all time, Oldboy by Park Chan-wook is likely one of the first movies that kick-started the unofficial Bollywood remake pipeline. Primarily based on the Japanese manga of the identical title, the movie additionally had an American remake (2013). The lesser-known, unauthorized Hindi adaptation is Zinda, helmed by Sanjay Gupta in 2006. The story follows Balajeet Roy (Sanjay Dutt), who’s imprisoned in a resort room for 15 years with out understanding the id and motive of his captor. Whereas Oldboy has a mix of thriller, crime, and a kick-ass martial arts sequence, Zinda fails to impress, regardless of following Oldboy’s narrative trajectory.
Dhamaka (2021)
Official remake of: The Terror Reside (2013)
Dhamaka is the Hindi model of The Terror Reside (2013). The tailored plotline follows the harrowing journey of Arjun Pathak (Kartik Aryan), a radio jockey and ex-journalist, who tries to make a take care of a terrorist threatening to explode the Bandra-Worli Sea Hyperlink. Whereas the Indian remake introduced a contemporary tackle directorial grounds, it didn’t seize the exhilaration, believability, and suspense generated by the formidable information anchor Yoon Younger-hwa (Ha Jung-woo) within the Korean counterpart’s one-room setup.
Barfi (2012)
Loosely impressed by: Oasis (2002)
This bittersweet romance drama has been popularly in comparison with Director Lee Chang-dong’s masterpiece Oasis (2002), which traces the blossoming relationship between Jong-du (Sol Kyung-gu), a person with a legal previous, and Gong-ju (Moon So-ri), a lady with cerebral palsy who faces societal ostracism. Regardless of this, they create their very own variations of happiness and their very personal love story. Their Indian equivalents are Murphy (Ranbir Kapoor), a deaf and mute man, and Jhilmil (Priyanka Chopra), an autistic girl within the interval rom-com Barfi, which achieved rave critiques for its participating narrative, memorable OST, and standout performances.
Te3n (2016)
Official remake of: Montage (2013)
Specializing in a layered kidnapping and homicide thriller set 15 years aside, T3en, helmed by Director Ribhu Dasgupta, is the official remake of the gripping Montage (2013), starring Uhm Jung-hwa, Kim Sang-kyung, and Tune Younger-chang, and directed by Jeong Keun-seob. Centered round a grandfather, a priest, and a police officer, the Hindi adaptation stars Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The supply materials follows a mom who, pushed by her baby’s tragic previous, groups up with detectives to crack a brand new kidnapping case. In comparison with the unique film—which bought a number of accolades and awards, together with the fiftieth Grand Bell Awards, the place Uhm Jung-hwa gained the Finest Actress award—T3en garnered consideration for its plot and performances however finally failed to realize the identical stage of traction and important acclaim.