There are some stories that quite simply are timeless. They either speak about the quintessential human condition, about some quixotic social custom or just tell a terrific story. Novel adaptations in Bollywood have been few and far between (though Chetan Bhagat’s novel adaptations appear to have become de rigueur in Bollywood) and we’d like to see many more:
Wuthering Heights
A classic tale of passion, tragedy, class schisms, and an undying love! Something along the lines of Wuthering Heights was made in the sixties (Dil Diya Dard Liya starring Dilip Kumar, Waheeda Rehman and Pran) but imagine a modern version with perhaps the beauteous Hrithik Roshan as a menacing, tortured Heathcliff and perhaps Kangana Ranaunt in a double role as the beautiful, willful, Catherine and her lovely, high spirited daughter who follows her heart; Cathy.
Pride and Prejudice
Gurinder Chaddha’s Bride and Prejudice doesn’t really count; it was a British film and Indian audiences never really connected to it. A modern Hindi adaptation may be just the thing… I can totally see Siddharth Malhotra as a brooding Darcy, perhaps the much underrated Jimmy Shergill as Bingley, Anushka Sharma as the proud, witty and intelligent Elizabeth Bennet and perhaps, Deepika Padukone as the beautiful, vulnerable Jane!
Gone with the Wind
Though bits of the story have inspired various Hindi films, the movie was never adapted for Indian cinema. I can see Alia Bhat as a feisty, spirited and willful Scarlet O’Hara and Rhett Butler played by… maybe Aditya Roy Kapur? In think he can be cynical and jaded as easily as he plays the lovelorn swain.
Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens’ tale of the orphan pushed into a life of begging and thievery by the criminal exploiter of young children, Fagin has resonance in modern India. It revolves around themes such as class prejudice, the corrupt rich, child labour, street criminals, street smart kids; all of which are relevant today. I can even see Aamir Khan playing the wicked Fagin in the Indian adaptation set in modern day Mumbai!
Doctor Zhivago
The backdrop of the Russian Revolution, a passionate love story that defies convention, the doctor Yuri Zhivago who is also a poet… a clever screenplay writer could transplant this story into an Indian ethos and perhaps a nuanced, restrained Ranbir Kapoor or even Ranveer Singh (he has shown us that he can mute his enthusiasm and channel it into passion in Lootera) could reinterpret Omar Sharif’s Dr Zhivago with Shradha Kapoor or even Aditi Rao Hydari reprising Julie Christie’s Lara or Larissa.
