Several Bollywood flicks are rip-offs or are inspired by Hollywood movies
Several Bollywood flicks are rip-offs or are inspired by Hollywood movies. Here's an example of the opposite. Leap Year, this week's Universal Films release in the United States, is uncannily similar to Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met! 
In fact, the Leap Year synopsis on the Universal Film News homepage clearly states: 'The film is loosely based on Jab We Met, a 2007 Bollywood film.' Directed by Anand Tucker, the film stars Amy Adams, Matthew Goode and Adam Scott. Amy was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress In A Supporting Role for Doubt (2008).
Locally adapted
As Leap Year has been filmed in Ireland, the movie's settings have been adapted to local customs. According to Irish legend, a man who is proposed to on a leap day must accept, as a result the title. The film tracks the journey of a girl who is out to meet her boyfriend who she feels is the right man for her. Enroute she meets a guy who helps her in her journey which ends in her making a connection with the stranger. Keeping in mind the Irish landscape, most of her journey is through road and waterways. In Jab We Met, the mode of commute was road and train.
Interestingly, director-producer Anand Tucker, who is based in London, was born to an Indian father and German mother in Thailand but has made UK his home. His films include And When Did You Last See Your Father (2007) and Shopgirl (2005).
Apparently Tucker has seen the Shahid-Kareena starrer and was inspired to do a film on similar lines but in a Western setting. Jab we Met was a big draw in the UK.
Imtiaz Ali, however, has no clue about Leap Year's plot. "I have not heard of it," he says. "But I am happy about it. I am not complaining. It is a good sign. I am glad that Jab We Met is serving as an inspiration to othersu00a0-- that too in the West."
He adds, "I would love to watch Leap Year." Jab We Met was remade into Tamil as Kandein Kadhalai by director R Kannan. Bharath and Tamannah starred in it. "They had bought the remake rights from producers Ashta-vinayak and it was a hit in the south," informs Imtiaz.
What Leap Year is about
Anna (Amy Adams) is travelling to Dublin, Ireland, to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) on February 29. Enroute she meets an innkeeper, Declan (Matthew Goode), to make an unexpected cross-country trek to pull off the perfect proposal in time.
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| Jab We Met |
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In Imtiaz Ali's Jab We Met, Geet Dhillon (Kareena) is leaving Mumbai to go to her hometown, Bhatinda and then to elope with her boyfriend Anshuman. On board the train meets a depressed business-man Aditya Kashyap (Shahid). Both begin an idyllic journey through the North Indian heartland as Aditya helps her reach her man. |
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