In this weekly column, Reel Retake, we compare the original film and its remake. Beyond highlighting the similarities, differences and measuring them on the success scale, we aim to discover the potential in the storyline that spurred the thought for a newer version and the ways in which a remake could possibly offer a different viewing experience. And if that is the case, analyse the film.
In focus this week are the Telugu and Malayalam remakes of Bollywood blockbuster Andhadhun (2018), which is based on a French short film titled The Piano Tuner.
What’s Andhadhun about?
Akash (Ayushmann Khurrana), a blind piano player, is desperate to complete the perfect tune. He lives in an apartment for the physically challenged. Later, it is revealed that Akash is not actually blind but pretending so that he feels ‘inspired’ for his music. He meets Sophie (Radhika Apte) and begins to play part time at her restaurant. Everyone is impressed with his piano skills and more so because he apparently can’t see and still plays so well. There, he meets a retired actor, Pramod Sinha (Anil Dhawan), who invites him over at his place for a private concert for his wedding anniversary with wife Simi (Tabu).
When Akash reaches Pramod’s house, he meets Simi at the door who lets him in, seeing he is blind. As he begins to play, Akash unwittingly becomes a witness of Pramod’s murder. Simi and her police inspector lover get rid of Pramod’s body and let Akash out of the house. Unable to live with the trauma, Akash decides to report Pramod’s murder to the police but finds Manohar there. Meanwhile, at Pramod’s funeral, Simi overhears her elderly neighbour talking to a police officer about her dead husband’s murder. Simi later kills her neighbour too. Akash sees the second murder too but is forced to continue faking his blindness to Simi.
Later, Simi poisons Akash’s coffee and even pulls out a gun. Sacred of Simi and what she might do, Akash admits to faking his blindness. He promises to leave for London but Simi drugs him. A neighbour’s child, suspicious of Akash’s blindness, records his video fully able to see and shows Sophie. As Sophie arrives, Simi arranges things to look like she and Akash are having sex. Furious and heartbroken, Sophie leaves Akash. When he wakes up, he realizes he has been blinded from the drugs Simi gave him. Manohar comes to Akash’s home to kill him. Akash barely escapes, but he faints after hitting a telephone pole.
Akash wakes up in an illegal organ harvesting clinic. Dr Swami (Zakir Hussain) and his assistants decide to spare Akash when he reveals he has information that will make them millions. They kidnap Simi, stage a suicide scene, and blackmail Manohar. However, Akash is double-crossed and tied up with Simi. Later, the money given to the kidnappers by Manohar in exchange for Simi’s life is revealed to be counterfeit. Simi helps Akash free himself and he removes Simi’s blindfold. He tries to escape, while Simi frees herself and attacks him. Dr Swami enters. After a brief fight, he and Akash knock Simi out. Dr Swami reveals that Simi has a rare blood type and that her organs would sell for millions. He also plans to use her corneas to restore Akash’s sight.
When Simi wakes in the car boot and begins making noise, Dr Swami stops the car to kill her, but she overpowers him and seizes the wheel. Akash, thinking Dr Swami is still driving, tries to persuade him to release Simi. She drops Akash off and tries to run him over. A nearby farmer who is trying to kill a hare misses, causing the hare to jump and hit the windshield. Simi loses control of the car and is killed.
A couple of years later, Akash is seen playing piano in another country. He seems blind still. Sophie meets Akash and he tells her the entire truth. In the end, Akash is seen leaving and uses his cane to knock a can out of his path.
Wherein lies the potential
Although Andhadhun is not entirely a fresh concept, having sought inspiration from a French short film, whatever novelty it builds on it is very interesting and unique to Indian storytelling. Director Sriram Raghavan is known to make engaging thrillers and with Andhadhun, he ups the ante. The dilemma of whether or not he should come out with the truth about his blindness is directly tied up with Akash’s chances of making it alive. This creates huge tension in the film at each point and the palpability at each turn in the screenplay will keep you on the edge of the seat. Not a single moment is loose and this lets the viewers wholeheartedly immerse themselves in the story that constantly springs surprises.
Ayushmann and Tabu’s performances are engaging and delightful. During moments of high tension, a dash of humour just changes the mood entirely. Ayushmann’s performance as a blind man inherently demands vulnerability, but when it is revealed he is not blind after all and becomes witness to a murder, the audiences will be unsure of which way to go. Should Akash reveal the truth about the murders, he puts himself in danger and this tension is irresistible and core of the entertainment factor in the film. The Coen Brothers in Hollywood have successfully mastered the genre of dark comedy and Raghavan does something of that level in Andhadhun, but with his own distinct style and flavour. Despite being novel in approach, Andhadhun is as much a masala Hindi film as it gets and will engage audiences of all kinds.
Apart from the brilliant character performances and storytelling, the sound design of the movie deserves applause. In set pieces, the mystery and fun unravel in great fashion because the mood of the scene is complimented well with the background score. The story also brings the really ugly aspects of humanity, the crime and the unabashed way it is all done, and makes you wonder whether the deeply vulnerable can actually survive or not.
Maestro, Bhramam are insipid remakes
Prithviraj stars in the Malayalam remake of Andhadhun, titled Bhramam. It is a frame by frame recreation and does not divert in many aspects. But it is not made any better and the original will stick more still. Prithviraj’s performance is vulnerable and conniving in equal measures and is able to lift the film, which does nothing out of the ordinary in terms of tone and treatment. It nevertheless becomes dull after a point, if one is re-watching it. Andhadhun was as much Ayushmann Khurana’s film as it was Tabu’s. But Bhramam, in the lack of a strong female protagonist, relies on Prithviraj only and even though he does a decent job of it, the overall narrative makes lesser impact as the cast fails to come together for impact in a scene.
Nithiin starrer Maestro was the first official remake of Andhadhun. Having watched a thriller once, the effect usually wears off with repeated viewings. This is one place where Maestro suffers heavily. Since those who have seen Andhadhun know what the film is going to deliver, the moments of tension are not as effective as during the initial watch. For those watching this for the first time, Maestro may still be impactful, but certainly not for the repeat audiences. In comparison to Ayushmann, Nithiin misses the beat of his character from the start. His expressions are very limited so the happiness of falling in love, or the subtle fear of witnessing a murder or the slyness in faking his blindness don’t really come across as well as they should have. Nithiin as Arun is also unable to deceive us with his blindness as subtle gestures of feeling his surroundings are missing.
Tamannaah as Simran looks the part and delivers a decent performance. However, her playact as femme fatale is a notch below when compared to Tabu’s performance in Andhadhun. Moreover, Andhadhun had subtle dark comedies that made the film enjoyable. Maestro does away with these elements, especially during the latter half when the tension needs to really ease off.
In the murder scene when the secret is revealed, the camera dollies in onto Arun’s (Nithiin) tensed face and the loud percussion sound does more harm than good to the intrigue factor. In Andhadhun, when Akash realises he is playing near a dead body, the orchestral piano gives way to very subtle notes as the tension builds up in right beats. The loud score is a problem in Maestro throughout. The music leads your emotions in a way that effectively kills the mystery factor. Maestro traverses a predictable path and delivers nothing unusual. It stays true to the original’s scenes and does nothing out of the ordinary. The unpredictability factor is compromised as the storytelling tows a familiar line.
Success meter
Andhadhun has been very well received in India and Chinese markets. Its success went beyond box office numbers and will always find top mention in the list of crime thrillers. For Maestro, the movie skipped theatrical release and premiered on OTT amid the pandemic. However, its success is doubtful considering the original is much more sharp and down right dirty. Bhramam is towing a similar line in tone and tenor and does nothing out of the ordinary. However, Prithviraj’s performance stands out, unlike Nithiin’s.
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