Indian Directors Who Remade Their Own Films In Another Language: ‘Ghajini’, ‘Kabir Singh’ & More

Written By: Entertainment Desk

Oct 26, 2026 17:30 IST ⓘ

Indian directors who retold their own films in another language.

Some filmmakers move on to a completely new story after calling “cut”. Others look at the film they have just made and see another possibility: a different language, a fresh cast and an audience waiting to discover it. The result can be a fascinating case of cinematic déjà vu – familiar heartbreak, another leading man, and sometimes a completely rewritten climax. Indian cinema has a long tradition of directors revisiting their own films across languages. Aamir Khan’s ‘Ghajini’, Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Kabir Singh’ and Kamal Haasan’s ‘Papanasam’ all belong to this club.

The person remaking the story was the filmmaker who had already brought it to life once. Of course, “the same movie twice” does not always mean identical scenes. Several directors reshaped characters, settings and endings.

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Here are 20 directors or directing teams who returned to their own stories in another language, followed by some honourable mentions.

1. A. R. Murugadoss - Ghajini To Ghajini

Before Aamir Khan’s tattoos and muscular transformation became a Bollywood talking point, Suriya had already lived this nightmare. Murugadoss’s Tamil ‘Ghajini’, released on September 29, 2005, starred Suriya, Asin and Nayanthara. The Hindi version arrived on December 25, 2008, with Aamir Khan, Asin and Jiah Khan. Both follow a businessman with severe memory loss who uses photographs, notes and tattoos to pursue the men responsible for his lover’s death.

Asin returned as Kalpana, but Murugadoss did more than swap the leading man. He explained that the Hindi version allowed him to improve parts of the script and change the climax. The soundtrack changed hands too, from Harris Jayaraj to A. R. Rahman.

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2. Sandeep Reddy Vanga - Arjun Reddy To Kabir Singh

A brilliant doctor, a combustible temper and a breakup that sends everything spiralling: Sandeep Reddy Vanga took this volatile combination from Telugu cinema to Hindi cinema himself. ‘Arjun Reddy’, released on August 25, 2017, starred Vijay Deverakonda and Shalini Pandey. ‘Kabir Singh’, released on June 21, 2019, brought in Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani for the story of a surgeon’s self-destructive response to separation from his college sweetheart.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga told Scroll that working with Shahid was his main reason for directing the remake. He changed the cultural background, locations and music while largely retaining the story and screenplay. The character’s surname changed, but the anger – and the debate surrounding his behaviour – certainly travelled with him.

3. Jeethu Joseph - Drishyam To Papanasam

Jeethu’s ingenious family thriller gave two acting giants the same terrible problem: how far would a father go to protect his family? The Malayalam ‘Drishyam’, released on December 19, 2013, starred Mohanlal, Meena and Asha Sharath. Jeethu then directed Kamal Haasan, Gautami and Asha Sharath in the Tamil ‘Papanasam’, released on July 3, 2015. Both revolve around a family concealing a death and facing an increasingly determined police investigation.

Jeethu said ‘Papanasam’ retained the original’s core while heightening its emotional treatment for Tamil audiences. This is also where the director credit matters: Jeethu directed ‘Papanasam’; the 2015 Hindi ‘Drishyam’ was directed by Nishikant Kamat. The same story had several journeys, but this particular return belonged to its creator.

4. Gautham Vasudev Menon - Minnale To Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein

Maddy’s identity crisis needed less than a year to find another language. Menon’s Tamil debut ‘Minnale’, released on February 2, 2001, starred R. Madhavan, Reema Sen and Abbas. He followed it with the Hindi ‘Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein’ on October 19, 2001, retaining Madhavan alongside Dia Mirza and Saif Ali Khan.

The romantic triangle follows a man who impersonates the person a woman is supposed to marry, only for the deception to catch up with him. Madhavan carried the central role into Hindi, while Harris Jayaraj’s music supplied another bridge between the versions. For viewers who discovered ‘RHTDM’ first, ‘Minnale’ offers the rather surreal experience of recognising the romance before recognising all the faces.

5. Gowtam Tinnanuri - Jersey To Jersey

Tinnanuri returned to the crease with a different leading man, but the father-son bond remained the emotional centre. His Telugu ‘Jersey’, released on April 19, 2019, starred Nani, Shraddha Srinath and Sathyaraj. The Hindi ‘Jersey’, released on April 22, 2022, featured Shahid Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapur.

Both tell the story of a former cricketer attempting a comeback in his thirties while struggling financially and trying to remain a hero in his young son’s eyes. The child’s wish for an Indian team jersey becomes the spark for a much larger reckoning with ambition, regret and self-worth. An especially fitting casting detail in the Hindi version: Shahid’s real-life father, Pankaj Kapur, plays his coach.

6. Pushkar–Gayathri - Vikram Vedha To Vikram Vedha

A cop thinks he knows the difference between good and evil. A gangster starts telling stories, and suddenly the answers become much less comfortable. Pushkar–Gayathri built that delicious moral puzzle into the Tamil ‘Vikram Vedha’, released on July 21, 2017, starring R. Madhavan, Vijay Sethupathi and Shraddha Srinath. Their Hindi version opened on September 30, 2022, with Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Radhika Apte.

Drawing on the Vikram–Betaal storytelling tradition, both films use the gangster’s accounts to challenge the policeman’s certainty. The filmmakers emphasised that new actors brought different interpretations rather than mechanically reproducing earlier performances. Hrithik’s Vedha and Sethupathi’s Vedha could share a narrative function without having to share every gesture.

7. Siddique - Body Guard To Kaavalan To Bodyguard

Siddique deserves an extra lap around this list: he directed the story three times. The Malayalam ‘Body Guard’, released on January 22, 2010, starred Dileep and Nayanthara. The Tamil ‘Kaavalan’, released on January 15, 2011, featured Vijay and Asin. Then came the Hindi ‘Bodyguard’, released on August 31, 2011, with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor.

Across the versions, a devoted protector becomes entangled in a romance involving anonymous phone calls, concealed identities and the woman he has been assigned to guard. A prank develops feelings, and the consequences become considerably less funny. Three languages, three major leading men, and the same director navigating that tricky balance between broad comedy, action and romantic heartbreak.

8. S. Shankar - Mudhalvan To Nayak: The Real Hero

“One day as chief minister” is the sort of challenge that sounds entertaining until somebody actually accepts it. Shankar first explored it in the Tamil ‘Mudhalvan’, released on November 7, 1999, starring Arjun Sarja, Manisha Koirala and Raghuvaran. He revisited it in Hindi with ‘Nayak: The Real Hero’, released on September 7, 2001, starring Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Amrish Puri and Paresh Rawal.

The premise follows a television journalist who is challenged to run the government for 24 hours after confronting a chief minister during an interview. His unexpectedly decisive administration turns a televised dare into a political battle. Shankar carried the fantasy of instant accountability into another industry, giving a fresh star cast the opportunity to shake up the system.

9. Ram Gopal Varma - Siva To Shiva

Before his Hindi crime dramas became a genre unto themselves, Varma revisited the film that launched his directing career. The Telugu ‘Siva’, released on October 5, 1989, starred Nagarjuna, Amala and Raghuvaran. His Hindi ‘Shiva’, released on December 7, 1990, retained those principal performers, with Paresh Rawal also in the cast.

The story follows a college student confronting campus intimidation and the criminal-political network behind it. Here, the most striking continuity is the leading cast: the remake was not dependent on replacing its central star with a familiar Hindi-film face. Nagarjuna took the role into another language himself.

10. Sudha Kongara - Soorarai Pottru To Sarfira

Kongara put the dream of affordable air travel through a second take-off. The Tamil ‘Soorarai Pottru’, which premiered on Prime Video on November 12, 2020, starred Suriya, Aparna Balamurali and Paresh Rawal. Its Hindi remake ‘Sarfira’ opened in cinemas on July 12, 2024, with Akshay Kumar, Radhikka Madan and Paresh Rawal.

Inspired by aviation entrepreneur G. R. Gopinath’s journey, both follow an ambitious man determined to make flying accessible while facing entrenched business interests and financial obstacles. Paresh returned as the powerful airline rival, while Suriya appeared in a cameo in ‘Sarfira’. Kongara also described the stars’ contrasting working styles: Suriya sought further takes, whereas Akshay placed greater confidence in his first shot.

11. Srijit Mukherji - Rajkahini To Begum Jaan

Mukherji took a Partition story across both a language boundary and a geographical one. The Bengali ‘Rajkahini’, released on October 16, 2015, starred Rituparna Sengupta, Jaya Ahsan and Jisshu Sengupta. The Hindi ‘Begum Jaan’, released on April 14, 2017, featured Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Gauahar Khan and Chunky Pandey.

Both centre on a brothel whose occupants refuse to leave when a newly drawn border cuts through their home. The setting moved from Bengal to Punjab for the Hindi adaptation. Mukherji told Rediff that he introduced new scenes and sequences, describing the second film as an adaptation rather than a straightforward remake. The resistance remained, but the place, performances and texture of the confrontation changed.

12. Rajesh Pillai - Traffic To Traffic

Few premises make a traffic jam feel quite this urgent. Pillai’s Malayalam ‘Traffic’, released on January 7, 2011, starred Sreenivasan, Kunchacko Boban, Rahman and Asif Ali. He later directed the Hindi ‘Traffic’, released on May 6, 2016, with Manoj Bajpayee, Jimmy Sheirgill, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee and Divya Dutta.

The interconnected thriller follows a desperate mission to transport a donor heart by road, bringing police officers, medical professionals and grieving families into the same race against time. Bajpayee took on the traffic policeman’s role associated with Sreenivasan in the original. There is a poignant production detail too: Pillai died before the Hindi film reached cinemas, making its release a tribute as well as a second telling of his breakthrough story.

13. Rosshan Andrrews - Mumbai Police To Deva

A policeman loses his memory just when the solution to a murder appears to be within reach. Andrrews first built that unsettling premise into the Malayalam ‘Mumbai Police’, released on May 3, 2013, starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Jayasurya and Rahman. He returned to it with the Hindi ‘Deva’, released on January 31, 2025, starring Shahid Kapoor, Pooja Hegde and Pavail Gulati.

This is one of the list’s clearest examples of a filmmaker deliberately changing his earlier work. ‘Deva’ significantly alters the climax and the motive behind the crime. In an interview with Gulf News, Andrrews defended revisiting the central concept for a different era rather than reproducing the original shot for shot. Knowing ‘Mumbai Police’, therefore, does not mean knowing every answer ‘Deva’ supplies.

14. Samuthirakani - Vinodhaya Sitham To Bro

Samuthirakani revisited his own story – and handed his on-screen job to Pawan Kalyan. The Tamil ‘Vinodhaya Sitham’, which premiered on ZEE5 on October 13, 2021, starred Thambi Ramaiah and Samuthirakani. Its Telugu adaptation ‘Bro’, released on July 28, 2023, starred Sai Dharam Tej, Pawan Kalyan and Ketika Sharma.

Both use a meeting with the personification of Time to give an overburdened man a second chance to reconsider his life. However, the original’s middle-aged protagonist became a younger man in ‘Bro’, while Pawan Kalyan took over the supernatural figure played by Samuthirakani. The director explained that the remake added a more overtly commercial treatment and reworked the central characters’ interactions. The philosophical lesson returned with considerably more star-driven swagger.

15. Pawan Kumar - U Turn To U Turn

An illegal shortcut might save a motorist a few minutes. In Pawan Kumar’s world, it can also lead to a very nasty mystery. His Kannada ‘U Turn’, released on May 20, 2016, starred Shraddha Srinath as a journalist investigating traffic violations and a disturbing series of deaths. The director remade it as a Tamil–Telugu bilingual, released on September 13, 2018, starring Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Aadhi Pinisetty, Rahul Ravindran and Bhumika Chawla.

Kumar told Cinema Express that Samantha’s interest preceded even the Kannada film’s release. He also argued that filmmakers should adapt a story for a new region while preserving its theme. The 2018 Tamil and Telugu versions form the later bilingual remake; the 2016 Kannada film is the earlier original.

16. Raghava Lawrence - Kanchana To Laxmii

Lawrence first directed himself into this possession nightmare before putting Akshay Kumar through it. The Tamil ‘Kanchana’, also known as ‘Muni 2: Kanchana’, released on July 22, 2011, starred Raghava Lawrence, R. Sarathkumar and Raai Laxmi. The Hindi ‘Laxmii’, which premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on November 9, 2020, starred Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani and Sharad Kelkar.

Both mix horror, comedy and revenge as a man becomes possessed by spirits seeking justice, with a transgender woman’s story central to the haunting. Sarathkumar’s pivotal role in the original found its Hindi counterpart in Kelkar’s performance. Lawrence therefore returned to material he knew from both sides of the camera, while the Hindi version placed another actor at the centre of its supernatural chaos.

17. Vishal Furia - Lapachhapi To Chhorii

Apparently, one trip into those ominous fields was not enough. Furia’s Marathi ‘Lapachhapi’, released on July 14, 2017, starred Pooja Sawant and Usha Naik. He revisited its rural horror in Hindi with ‘Chhorii’, which premiered on Prime Video on November 26, 2021, starring Nushrratt Bharuccha and Mita Vashisht.

The story follows a pregnant woman seeking shelter in an isolated rural home, where apparent refuge gradually turns into a struggle for her unborn child’s survival. The supernatural scares are bound up with disturbing attitudes towards women and motherhood. Furia explained that the Hindi production gave him the resources to expand the scares beyond the Marathi film’s constraints. A new leading lady entered the maze, with the original filmmaker still controlling the exits.

18. Mathukutty Xavier - Helen To Mili

Xavier’s second-language revisit came with a particularly unforgiving location: a freezer. His Malayalam debut ‘Helen’, released on November 15, 2019, starred Anna Ben and Lal. The Hindi ‘Mili’, released on November 4, 2022, starred Janhvi Kapoor, Manoj Pahwa and Sunny Kaushal.

Both follow a young woman accidentally locked inside a restaurant’s freezer after closing time, while people outside struggle to work out where she has gone. Alongside the survival ordeal runs an emotionally important father-daughter relationship. Xavier told Onmanorama that Boney Kapoor’s call helped bring the Hindi version together. One filmmaker consequently got to stage the same frightening question twice: how do you keep somebody alive when nobody even knows where to look?

19. K. Balachander - Maro Charitra To Ek Duuje Ke Liye

Long before the more recent wave of cross-industry remakes, Balachander had already shown how a love story could travel while retaining its cultural conflict. His Telugu ‘Maro Charitra’, released on May 19, 1978, starred Kamal Haasan, Saritha and Madhavi. The Hindi ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’, released on June 5, 1981, retained Kamal Haasan and Madhavi, with Rati Agnihotri as the heroine.

The original follows a Tamil man and a Telugu woman whose romance encounters family opposition; the Hindi version reshapes the pairing around a Tamil man and a Hindi-speaking woman. Language is therefore more than the medium of the remake – it is part of the lovers’ predicament. Kamal returned to the central role, carrying Balachander’s cross-cultural romance into Hindi cinema.

20. Balu Mahendra - Moondram Pirai To Sadma

The language changed; the central pair remained. Mahendra’s Tamil ‘Moondram Pirai’, released on February 19, 1982, starred Kamal Haasan, Sridevi and Silk Smitha. He brought all three back for the Hindi Sadma, released on July 8, 1983.

Both centre on a young woman left with a childlike mental state after a head injury and the schoolteacher who shelters and cares for her. The tenderness, vulnerability and devastating emotional consequences made this an especially distinctive case of a director revisiting his own work. Mahendra did not need to recast the relationship at its heart: Kamal and Sridevi performed its difficult emotional journey again. Even some of Ilaiyaraaja’s melodies travelled between the versions.

Honourable Mentions

The club extends well beyond these 20 entries. C. Prem Kumar revisited ’96 (2018, Tamil) as ‘Jaanu’ (2020, Telugu); Puri Jagannadh remade ‘Badri’ (2000, Telugu) as ‘Shart: The Challenge’ (2004, Hindi); Krish Jagarlamudi turned ‘Vedam’ (2010, Telugu) into ‘Vaanam’ (2011, Tamil); Jay K revisited ‘Ezra’ (2017, Malayalam) as ‘Dybbuk’ (2021, Hindi); and R. S. Prasanna adapted ‘Kalyana Samayal Saadham’ (2013, Tamil) into ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’ (2017, Hindi).

There is also Prabhu Deva’s ‘Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana’ (2005, Telugu) → ‘Ramaiya Vastavaiya’ (2013, Hindi), Deva Katta’s ‘Prasthanam’ (2010, Telugu) → ‘Prassthanam’ (2019, Hindi) and Sailesh Kolanu’s ‘HIT: The First Case’ (2020, Telugu) → ‘HIT: The First Case’ (2022, Hindi). The older tradition includes K. Viswanath’s ‘Siri Siri Muvva’ (1976, Telugu) → ‘Sargam’ (1979, Hindi) and Asit Sen’s ‘Deep Jwele Jaai’ (1959, Bengali) → ‘Khamoshi’ (1969, Hindi). Different decades, genres and languages – plenty of filmmakers have decided that one telling was only the beginning.