Film
producer
D
Suresh
Babu
says
that
in
the
absence
of
good
scripts,
it
is
financially
viable
to
back
remakes
of
hit
movies
as
they
have
already
been
tested
in
front
of
the
audiences.
Babu
has
bankrolled
the
Telugu
movie
Narappa,
a
remake
of
Tamil
hit
Asuran
for
which
its
lead
star
Dhanush
had
won
the
National
Award
for
best
actor
earlier
this
year.
The
Telugu
adaptation,
starring
Venkatesh
Daggubati,
Priyamani
and
Karthik
Rathnam,
is
jointly
produced
by
Babu
and
Kalaippuli
S
Thanu,
the
producer
of
the
original
movie.
"We
have
data
which
shows
remakes
are
more
successful
than
straight
films.
Like,
Tamil
to
Telugu
remake
is
successful.
There
are
straight
films
that
are
also
successful
but
remakes
give
you
a
sense
of
(financial)
security
because
it
is
a
tested
script,"
Babu
told
PTI
in
a
Zoom
interview.
"Maybe
there
is
not
enough
great
content
being
written
so
when
somebody
writes
content
well
in
one
language
so
why
not
make
it
in
again,"
he
added.
Asuran,
which
also
won
the
National
Award
for
best
film
in
Tamil,
was
written
and
directed
by
Vetrimaaran.
The
2019
original
revolved
around
a
farmer
who
goes
on
the
run
with
his
family
after
his
son
murders
an
upper-caste
landlord
in
a
fit
of
vengeance.
Babu,
who
heads
the
banner
Suresh
Productions,
said
there
is
a
dearth
of
powerful
narratives,
especially
for
stars
in
Telugu
cinema.
"Usually,
they
(writers)
will
not
write
such
stories
for
a
star
like
Venky
and
even
if
they
do
they
will
make
it
in
a
more
glamourised
way.
They
will
not
make
heroes
from
the
poor
(background)
and
someone
who
has
suffered
so
much," he
said.
"In
the
earlier
days
we
had
'Do
Bigha
Zameen',
where
we
had
(heroes
playing)
downtrodden
people.
Now
you
don't
see
our
stars
play
this
role
so
it
was
a
great
opportunity
and
he
(Venkatesh)
was
very
excited
about
it,"
he
added.
Directed
by
Srikanth
Addala,
Narappa
released
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
on
Tuesday.
What
drove
Babu
to
produce
the
Telugu
remake
of
Asuran
was
the
film's
strong
social
commentary.
"There
is
a
dialogue-
'They
may
rob
your
land,
money
but
they
can't
take
your
education
away,
study
and
if
you
study
you
will
make
it
in
life'.
It
is
an
indirect
message
that
getting
educated
is
important.
It
is
not
a
preachy
film," he
said.
Echoing
similar
sentiment,
Prabhu,
son
of
producer
Kalaipuli
S
Thanu,
said
good
movies
should
be
remade
in
different
languages.
"A
good
film
with
a
good
message
should
be
passed
on
to
everyone.
The
film
is
not
about
the
caste
system
but
more
about
how
poor
people
suffer
because
of
rich
guys.
It
also
talks
about
the
importance
of
education,"
Prabhu
said.
Lauding
how
director
Vetrimaaran
tackled
the
issues
of
oppression
and
the
importance
of
education
in
Asuran,
Babu
said
Addala
has
retained
the
essence
of
the
original.
"He
doesn't
hit
it
on
your
face
but
makes
sure
the
message
comes
across.
If
you
go
directly,
then
there
will
be
some
aversion
or
controversy."
Babu
is
now
looking
forward
to
releasing
his
next
Drushyam
2,
the
Telugu
remake
of
the
Malayalam
film
Drishyam
2
which
starred
Mohanlal.
The
remake
version
will
see
Venkatesh
reprise
his
role
of
Rambabu
from
the
2014
Drushyam,
which
was
also
a
remake.
The
film
is
currently
in
the
post-production
stage
and
the
team
is
yet
to
take
a
call
regarding
the
OTT
release
of
the
film,
Babu
said.