23rd of April is celebrated every year as ‘World Book Day’, and this year’s theme is ‘Share a million stories.
We all love books and what would be better than having your favorite books being played in silver-screen by your favorite actors! Bollywood has given life to several characters of some internationally famous novels of all times. It has been taking the inspirations from numerous books and transformed them into movies. Here is a list of some of the best movies from the Bollywood which are inspired from novels:
Guide:
“Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai” is a famous song from the yesteryears which still blends a melody in our ears. The classic Bollywood movie was adapted from Padma Vibhushan winner, R.K. Narayan’s, ‘The Guide’.
Devdas and Parineeta:
Both of these movies are considered to be the iconic pieces of the Bollywood. Both Devdas and Parineeta are based on the novels written by the critically acclaimed Bengali novelist, Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s books.
Omkara, Haider, Maqbool:
Bollywood has always being in love with the work of Shakespeare and there has been the iconic movies based on some of his novels.
Omkara: The movie was a blockbuster which bought a storm soon after it’s release. The characters of Langda Tyagi, Kesu Firangi or Omkara has left their imprints in our lives. The movie was based on ‘Othello’.
Haider: Shahid Kapoor took the year 2014 in his name with the exceptional movie ‘Haider’ which was based on “Hamlet’.
Maqbool: The dark story of Mumbai gangster was filled with bloodshed and deceit. The movie starred Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Piyush Mishra and Pankaj Kapoor in the lead roles. Maqbool is one of the best on-screen adaptation of Shakespere’s novel, ‘Macbeth’.
Aisha:
One of the best movies of Sonam Kapoor, the story of Aisha is adapted from the novel ‘Emma’ by Jane Austen.
One Night At the Call Centre, Five Point Someone, 2 States, The 3 Mistakes of My Life, Half Girlfriend:
Chetan Bhagat is one such Indian author whose most of the books are now a Bollywood movie. Bhagat has been trolled a many times in the social media but who cares! His five novels are now a part of the main stream Bollywood movies.
One Night at the Call Centre- Hello
Five Point Someone- 3 Idiots
2 States- 2 States
The 3 Mistakes of My Life- Kai Po Che
Half Girlfriend- Half Girlfriend
7 Khoon Maaf:
Ruskin Bond’s novel, ‘Susanna’s Seven Husbands’ was made into Vishal Bharadwaj’s Bollywood movie, ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ starring Priyanka Chopra.
The Blue Umbrella:
Another great piece of work by Ruskin Bond, ‘The Blue Umbrella’ was made into a Bollywood movie by Vishal Bharadwaj. The Blue Umbrella won the National Award for The Best Children’s film in 2005.
Saawariya:
Ranbir Kapoor’s debut movie, ‘Saawariya’ is an adaptation from Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s, ‘White Nights’.
Noor:
Starring Sonakshi Sinha, the movie ‘Noor’ is was adapted from Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz’s ‘Karachi You’re Killing Me.
Saheb, Biwi Aur Gulam:
The 1962 movie, ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Gulam’ is based on Saheb, Biwi Aur Golam written by the Bengali author, Bimal Mitra.
Tere Mere Sapne:
Dev Anand starring, Tere Mere Sapne is an adaptation from A.J. Cronin’s ‘The Citadel’, a novel revolving aroud contentious theme of medical ethics.
Junoon:
Ruskin Bond’s novel, ‘A Flight of Pigeons’ was made into the critically acclaimed movie, Junoon by the famous Shyam Benegal in 1973.
Pinjar:
The 2004 movie, Pinjar starring Urmila Matondkar was based on the Punjabi novel of the same name written by Amrita Pritam.
Shatranj Ke Khilari:
Satyajit Ray’s ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’ was an adaptation of Munshi Premchand’s book by the same name.
Angoor:
Based on Shakespeare’s ‘Comedy of Errors’, the movie ‘Angoor’ was directed by Gulzar.
The Namesake:
Directed by Mira Nair, the movie starred Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Kal Penn. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Jhumpa Lahiri.
There are numerous other Bollywood movies adapted from the famous novels. If you know any of them, do share it with us! Till then, keep reading books and keep watching the awesome movies.
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