11 Bollywood Movies Inspired By Great Books

7 Khoon Maaf

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, 7 Khoon Maaf is a black comedy-drama-thriller based on author Ruskin Bond’s short story, Susanna’s Seven Husbands. A landmark movie in Priyanka Chopra’s career, it pans the lifetime of the character played by Priyanka who has been featured with her seven husbands. The talented actress had to don seven different looks in the movie.

Aisha

Jane Austen’s novel Emma is the inspiration behind this movie, directed by Rajshree Ojha. Starring Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol in the lead roles, the romantic comedy was ‘tailor-made’ for Sonam, who is known as Bollywood’s fashionista. The film received mixed reactions. While a few enjoyed the chic-flick, there were others who criticised the director for ruining a classic.

3 Idiots

One of the most successful Bollywood films, 3 Idiots finds its inspiration in author Chetan Bhagat’s bestselling novel, Five Point Someone. The film courted controversy when it was released as the makers maintained that it was loosely based on the novel while Bhagat claimed that it shared the plot with the book.

The Blue Umbrella

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the film is an adaptation of author Ruskin Bond’s short story of the same name. A critically acclaimed movie, The Blue Umbrella stars Pankaj Kapur and Shreya Sharma in the lead roles.

Saawariya

The debut film of Bollywood’s star kids, Sonam Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor, is an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Russian short story White Nights. Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the coming-of-age story, with love as a central theme, didn’t do too well at the box office.

Omkara

Director Vishal Bhardwaj adapted Shakespeare’s Othello to make the Indian crime drama Omkara that stars Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. The film was showcased at several international festivals and Bhardwaj walked away with many awards for his creation. The film was lapped up by the Indian audiences as well.

The Namesake

Jhumpa Lahiri’s critically acclaimed novel The Namesake was adapted by Mira Nair as a film with the same name. Starring Irrfan Khan and Tabu, the film was a hit at the Indian box office, thanks to the intense performance by the lead actors.

Parineeta

Starring Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt, Parineeta was inspired by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Bengali novella of the same name. The Bollywood musical was Vidya Balan’s first Hindi movie and she is now known as one of the most talented actresses.

Maqbool

Vishal Bhardwaj’s love for literature is evident from the number of books he has adapted into movies. And here you find a modern-day version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that the director chose to convert into a feature film. Maqbool stars Tabu, Irrfan and Pankaj Kapur in the lead roles.

Devdas

Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was based on the Bengali novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Bhansali’s magnum opus stars Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles.