Mohanlal Film’s Journey: Hollywood to Bollywood

Mohanlal’s much-acclaimed film Oppam (2016) was loved by the audience and the critics alike. Now, Hera Pheri fame Priyadarshan is all set to make its Hindi remake with Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. Mohanlal’s Oppam was a thriller and was based on a story by Govind Vijayan.

However, only a few are aware that the film is actually inspired by two other films, one from Hallyuwood and the other from Hollywood.

While Priyadarshan already has a history of doing Hollywood remakes, the fact that a Malayalam action thriller could be a remake may be quite shocking for the audience.

Now, let’s talk about the two films that actually inspired Oppam: The Hollywood film Cape Fear (1991), and the Korean film Blind (2011).

While Cape Fear doesn’t feature any blind characters, there are some plot similarities between its plot and Oppam. In both films,convicted characters believe they were wrongfully punished.

If you’ve seen Mohanlal’s thriller, you can see that the villain is wrongfully convicted. The judge is left with no other choice to convict the person because of strong evidence.

This is in stark contrast to Cape Fear, when the villain committed the crime, but the evidence was suppressed by the public defender which could have reduced the sentence.

After 14 years in prison, the same villain returns as a self-taught lawyer.

Blind (2011), on the other hand, follows a blind ex-detective who witnesses a hit-and-run accident and becomes the key to solving the case.

As she teams up with a reluctant witness, they uncover a serial killer targeting young women. Her heightened senses and courage turn her disability into strength in the gripping thriller.

After watching all three films, one can easily figure out a common connection, but there are no similarities in the plots.

While Oppam performed well, it is yet to be seen if the film’s Hindi remake will spark the same positive reactions again.