Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal Again might be doing big business at the box office but the film isn’t as original as it ought to be. There are many inspirations behind Golmaal Again and all of them have been taken from Hollywood, making it a classic case study of how to make a film without being labelled a plagiarist.
Picking out the many inspirations behind the latest Rohit Shetty film.
Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal Again might be doing big business at the box office but the film isn’t as original as it ought to be. There are many inspirations behind Golmaal Again and all of them have been taken from Hollywood, making it a classic case study of how to make a film without being labelled a plagiarist. Thankfully, people in Pakistan have seen all or most of these films – on TV or DVD – and that’s why we are able to decode Golmaal Again for the Golmaal it is.
Ghost Dad (1990)
Two weeks before Patrick Swayze became the world’s favourite ghost, it was Bill Cosby who had played the character of Ghost Dad in what turned out to be Sidney Poitier’s last directorial venture. The film had Cosby playing a ghost who jumps out of the body in fright and can only be seen in the dark. He has unfinished business in the world before he can rest in peace or return to his body for the sake of his children. In Golmaal Again, there is one character that goes through the same scenario – particularly the scene where they realize that they are not alive, but ghosts.
Ghost (1990)
Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore star in what became one of the most popular Ghost films of all time. Sam Wheat is murdered and his girlfriend’s life is in danger because the same people are after her. With the help of a psychic, he manages to convey to his girlfriend that her life is in danger and then saves her life just as he would have had he been alive. In Golmaal Again, the ghost returns to take revenge from the very person responsible for their death and then bids adieu in the same manner – white light flashing as the ghost is taken to Heaven.
Home Alone (1990)
It seems that the year 1990 was very dear to Rohit Shetty as the director of Golmaal Again significantly ‘borrows’ elements from films of the year. The scenes where the characters fight each other, scare others into believing that their house is haunted have the feel of Chris Columbus flicks namely Home Alone. Even the background score reminds one of the films where Macaulay Culkin single-handedly defended his house against intruders in the absence of his family.
The Fallen (1998)
Denzel Washington plays a Philadelphia Police Detective who investigates a case where a fallen angel possesses human beings by touch. The scene where the ghost in Golmaal Again jumps from one body to another to scare the villain is lifted from this flick where Denzel’s character was the one that couldn’t be possessed. The ghost jumps between bodies to taunt the detective and one must admit that adding the Nana Patekar touch to the scenario in Golmaal Again was something that made the film better.
The Sixth Sense (1999)
M. Night Shyamalan entered Hollywood with The Sixth Sense where Haley Joel Osment’s character could see dead people walking. Tabu’s character in Golmaal Again can do that as well. The difference between the two characters is that while Cole Sear in the Hollywood flick didn’t know that the person he was speaking to was dead, Anna Mathew in Golmaal Again knew exactly who she was taking to. In fact, she can help these ghosts in finishing their tasks in this world so that they can reside in their heavenly abode, a common feat in several Hollywood flicks.
