Bollywood writers and filmmakers so often get out of ideas and at that time it’s the books and novels that came to their rescue. So often, we have seen Bollywood movies being based on or inspired by books and novels. Let’s have a look at top 10 Bollywood movies based on best seller novels-
1. Umrao Jaan (1981)
Muzaffar Ali‘s classic movie- Umrao Jaan is based on a Urdu novel ‘Umrao Jaan Ada’ written by Mirza Hadi Ruswa. It is based on the life of a courtesan in Lucknow and how she tries to escape the brothel, but still ends up back there in the end. The film featured Rekha and Farooq Sheikh in lead roles.
2. Maqbool (2003)
The plot of Maqbool is loosely based on that of ‘Macbeth’ when it comes to various events and characters. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the movie won international acclaim. Pankaj Kapoor even won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) for this film in 2003.
3. Pinjar (2003)
Amrita Pritam‘s Pinjar was made into a movie by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi by the same name. Based on the Hindu-Muslim problems during the partition of India, the movie won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration.
4. Water (2005)
Water is the third movie and final movie of Deepa Mehta‘s Elements Trilogy including Fire and Earth. The movie was based on author Bapsi Sidhwa‘s novel Water: A Novel. It is a dark introspect into the tales of rural Indian widows in the 1940’s and covers some controversial subjects such as misogyny and ostracism.
5. Parineeta (2005)
The musical romantic drama is an adaptation of a Bengali novella Parineeta by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Directed by debutant Pradeep Sarkar, the film featured Vidya Balan (another debut), Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in the lead roles.
6. The Namesake (2006)
Mira Nair‘s The Namesake is based on Jhumpa Lahiri‘s novel by the same name. The movie featured Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Kal Penn in lead roles and was widely acclaimed.
7. Hello (2008)
Out of the many movies based on Chetan Bhagat‘s novels, Hello was one of them, based on One Night at the Call Center. Atul Agnihotri helmed the movie, it featured Sharman Joshi, Sohail Khan, Gul Panag, Isha Koppikar, Amrita Arora and Sharat Saxena.
8. Aisha (2010)
Set in the upper class society of Delhi and Aisha is an adaptation of Jane Austen‘s Emma, published in the year 1815. Directed by Rajshree Ojha, the movie starred Abhay Deol and Sonam Kapoor in the lead roles.
9. Kai Po Che! (2013)
Abhishek Kapoor‘s buddy film Kai Po Che! was based on Chetan Bhagat‘s novel ‘The 3 Mistakes of My Life‘. The plot of the film is based on friendship, religious politics and communal hatred, just like the novel.
10. 2 States (2014)
The most recent novel adaptation is 2 States based on another one of Chetan Bhagat‘s novel by the same name. It is all about the struggle of two people of different castes in love and how they convince their parents for their marriage.
Among all these Bollywood movies based on best seller novels, which one is your favorite? Tell us below in the comments section.