Popular Tamil films that made their way to Bollywood

After reports of Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn is likely to play the lead role in the Hindi remake of Tamil film 'Kaithi' started doing the rounds, the makers and the actor has now confirmed the same. Interstingly, this would the star actor's tenth remake of a South Indian movie and the fourth direct Tamil remake film. He has earlier starred in the remake of Suriya starred 'Singam' titled 'Singham' and 'Singam 2' titled 'Singham Returns' and director Mani Ratnam's 'Aayutha Ezhuthu', which also had Suriya playing one of the three lead roles. He has also been part of the remake of the popular Malayam film 'Drishyam', after it was remade in Tamil starring Kamal Haasan.

Films being remade in different languages have been part of the film industry for a long time. While initially the trend was South Indian filmmakers remaking Hindi film in regional languages, since the 90's the trend of remaking South Indian films has slowly become popular. With Bollywood star Ajay Devgn all set to reprise role played by Karthi in the remake of 'Kaithi', here's a look at few of the popular Tamil films which were remade in Hindi with popular Bollywood actors.

Aayutha Ezhuthu to Yuva

Veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam roped in a bunch of youngsters Suriya, Madhavan and Siddharth in 2004 to direct a political drama. The film was remade inn Hindi as ‘Yuva’, which was co-written by Anurag Kashyap and performed well at the box office with Ajay Devgn reprising the role played by Suriya. The Hindi remake too had a star cast which inlcuded Vivek Oberoi, Abhishek Bachchan, Esha Deol, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. Ajay Devgn played Michael Mukherjee, an activist who wants to encourage students to enter politics.

Singam to Singham

Filmmaker Rohit Shetty started his cop franchise in 2011 with Singham, starring Ajay as Bajirao Singham. The film was a remake of director Hari's 'Singam' starring Suriya in the lead. THe sequel to the film was also remade in Hindi as 'Singham Returns'. The Hindi version starred Ajay Devgn, Kajal Aggarwal, and Prakash Raj in prominent roles.

Pokkiri to Wanted

While the Vijay starrer 'Pokkiri' directed by Prabhudeva was a remaked of Telugu film 'Pokiri' starring Mahesh Babu, the film was then remade in Hindi again by Prabhudeva himself will Bollywood superstar Salman Khan playing the lead role. Produced by Boney Kapoor the film starred Ayesha Takia, Vinod Khanna and Prakash Raj in important roles. This cop drama became the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year.

Ghajini to Ghajini

Director AR Murugadoss made his entry into Bollywood with a remake of his Tamil film starring Suriya. The film titled 'Ghajini' in both the languges, while the Hindi film became the highest-grossing Indian film of 2008, and the first Indian film to cross the ₹100 crore mark domestically, creating the 100 Crore Club. Interestingly, Aamir Khan's character was featured in a 3D video game titled Ghajini – The Game, which was based on the film.

Thuppakki to Holiday - A Soldier Is Never Off Duty

After his successful Bollywood debut with 'Ghajini', director AR Murugadoss was back with another remake of his own film 'Thuppakki', this time with Akshay Kumar. The film became a commercial success at the box office. The film is about how a soldier’s holiday turns into a full-time mission to save Mumbai from terror attacks, while only taking time out for his bride-hunt.

Kaakha Kaakha - Force

Gautham Menon remade his debut film ‘Minnale’ in Hindi as ‘Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein’, which has earned a niche fan following over the years. The ace director's second directorial ‘Kaakha Kaakha’ became highly successful at the box-office in 2004. The Hindi remake titled ‘Force’directed by Nishikanth Kamath, hit the screens in 2011 and received a positive response from the audience. Notably, John Abraham and Genelia D’Souza’s acting in the lead roles received praise. The film is about an honest cop who takes his revenge for the death of his wife.