Why Ala Vaikunthapurram Failed to Impress in its Bollywood Remake ‘Shehzada’ ?

The trend of remaking successful South Indian movies in Hindi has become increasingly popular in recent years. One such remake, ‘Shehzada’, was released on February 17, 2023, starring Karthik Aryan and Kriti Sanon and directed by Rohit Dhawan. However, the movie failed to impress the Bollywood audience, surprising the film crew who had high hopes for its success. In this article, we will explore why ‘Shehzada’ did not live up to the success of its original film, ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’.

The original film, ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’, was a massive success due to its engaging storyline, Allu Arjun’s excellent acting, Taman’s music, stylish fights, and Trivikram’s exceptional dance choreography. It broke records as the highest-grossing film in the ‘Non-Baahubali’ category. However, despite being a remake of such a successful movie, ‘Shehzada’ failed to receive even the slightest positive response from the audience. The movie had some differences from the original, which made it unable to create the same impact as ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’.

The first major difference between the two movies is the change in the storyline. In ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’, Bantu (Allu Arjun) grows up as the son of Valmiki (Murali Krishna), and the role of Valmiki’s wife (Rohini) is crucial in the story. As a mother, she showed her motherhood, and the character played an essential part in the film. However, in ‘Shehzada’, the character of Valmiki’s wife was killed off, making it easier for the hero to distance himself from Valmiki’s family. This change hasn’t created the impact which it has created in the Telugu film.

The second major difference between the two movies is the characterization of the hero. In ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’, the hero’s character was elevated, and he behaved as a ‘ Hero’ when rescuing Amulya (Pooja Hegde) from the villains. However, in ‘Shehzada’, the makers made Karthik Aryan behave differently without resorting to fighting.

Another significant difference is the choreography of fights. The fight scenes in ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’ were stylishly designed with Allu Arjun in mind, but Karthik Aryan failed to deliver in ‘Shehzada.’ Even when the scenes were copied as they were, Karthik Aryan could not bring anything new to his performance.

The significance of every character’s role in ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’ was pivotal to the plot, but it was not reflected in ‘Shehzada.’ In addition, the absence of Bantu’s colleagues’ characters in the remake and the removal of the boardroom scene resulted in the audience losing out on the entertainment factor. Furthermore, the portrayal of the antagonist character also appeared to be lacking in naturalness.

The music in ‘Ala Vaikunthapuram’ played a significant role in its success, with its songs and background music elevating the movie’s appeal. However, ‘Shehzada’ failed to produce any noteworthy music except for one or two songs, resulting in a lack of promotion for the movie and affecting its overall impact.

Last year, five South Indian movies were remade in Hindi, out of which ‘Vikram Vedha’ starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan and ‘Cuttputlli’ featuring Akshay Kumar failed to achieve the expected collections. Similarly, ‘Mili’ starring Janhvi Kapoor, ‘Hit- The First Case’ starring Rajkumar, and ‘Forensic’ starring Radhika Apte was also unsuccessful. ‘Shehzada’ has recently joined this list, raising doubts about the success of remake movies in Hindi. However, Ajay Devgan’s ‘Drishyam 2’ was a massive hit, possibly because it was not released in theaters in Malayalam and was not dubbed in Hindi.

The cinema in regional languages of South India has seen a rise in popularity, with more captivating stories catching the attention of Bollywood audiences. Additionally, the impact of OTT platforms is substantial, as regional movies with subtitles in Hindi or English are being watched. As viewers have already watched the original movies, their interest in remakes is decreasing.  However, it remains to be seen how upcoming South-to-Hindi remakes like Salman Khan’s ‘Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan’ (a remake of ‘Veeram’) and Ajay Devgn’s ‘Bhola’ (a remake of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s ‘Khaidi’) will fare.