Shakespeare’s 400th death anniversary: How the bard influenced Bollywood

William Shakespeare is certainly a front runner in a list of writers who’ve influenced Bollywood film-makers. Since Shakespearean plays are copyright free (and therefore hassle free) his work has been adapted into several Hindi films.

Shakespeare is believed to have died on 23 April 1616. As the world prepares to honour the bard on his 400th death anniversary, we take a look at the Bollywood films his plays inspired!

1. The Merchant of Venice: Here’s a lesser known Bollywood adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s best plays. Director J. J. Madan’s Zalim Saudagar (1941) is based on the popular play set in Venice. The film starred Khalil, Kajjan, Rani Premlata and Haider Bandi in the lead roles.

2. Romeo and Juliet: This tragic play has inspired several Bollywood films, albeit, with some drama. Bobby (1973), Ek Duje Ke Liye (1981), Sanam Teri Kasam (1982), Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), Saudagar (1991), Ishaqzaade (2012), Issaq (2013) and the more recent Goliyon Ki Rasleela: Ram-Leela (2013), all transformed Romeo and Juliet’s tragic love story into a big screen affair.

3. The Comedy of Errors: This humorous play has inspired two Bollywood films that eventually became box office hits—Do Dooni Char (1968) and Angoor (1982).

4. Macbeth: Director Vishal Bhardwaj’s 2003 film Maqbool was based on this tragic play. Some of the biggest stars including Pankaj Kapur, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Piyush Mishra starred in the film. It might have failed at the box office, but is still considered a cinematic genius.

5. Othello: The tragedy of Othello inspired Vishal Bhardwaj’s second adaptation Omkara (2006). The movie was a commercial as well as a critical success and won three National Awards.

6. Hamlet: Vishal Bhardwaj completed his Shakespearean trilogy with Hamlet. His critically acclaimed adaptation Haider in 2014 won all the major awards for the Best Film and Best Actor that year.

7. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Sharat Kataria sought inspiration from this play to make a lesser-known crossover comedy 10ml Love in 2010. The film starred Neil Bhoopalam and Anusha Bose in the lead roles.

8. The Last Lear: Technically, this would not qualify as a Bollywood film. However, late Rituparno Ghosh adapted the play for an English film, with the same name, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Arjun Rampal and Preity Zinta.

Naseeruddin Shah was correct when he said, “Every big story in Hindi films is inspired by Shakespeare in some way.”

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Video: When a Shakespearean actor taught Hamlet’s soliloquy to a toddler