One of the most popular source of inspiration for movies remain literature. A piece of poetry to a full-fledged novel can often inspire grand movies. In the west, popular cult movies like Harry Potter, Lord Of The Rings and series like Game of Thrones are all adapted from books. Heres looking at 20 Hindi movies that have been based on books
Jaane Jaan (2023)
The film directed by Sujoy Ghosh is an adaptation of the 2005 Japanese novel The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. The film stars Kareena Kapoor, Vijay Varma, and Jaideep Ahlawat
Kohraa (1964)
It is a thriller horror film directed by Biren Nag, starring Waheeda Rehman, Biswajeet and Lalita Pawar. The film was adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel Rebecca, which was previously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock as Academy Award-winning Rebecca (1940)
The Zoya Factor (2019)
Based on Anuja Chauhan's 2008 novel of the same name, the film stars Sonam Kapoor and Dulquer Salmaan. The film sees a clumsy advertising executive Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) falling in love with the dreamy cricketer and captain of Indian team, Nikhil Khoda (Dulquer Salmaan)
The White Tiger (2021)
This black comedy drama is an adaptation of Aravind Adiga's 2008 novel of the same name, the story is about Balram, who comes from a poor Indian village and uses his wit and cunning to escape from poverty
Saawariya (2007)
The film that marked the debut of Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor is based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1848 short story White Nights. The film was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and had cameos by Salman Khan and Rani Mukerji
Omkara (2006)
Directed and co-written by Vishal Bhardwaj, the film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Othello'. It stars an ensemble cast of Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vivek Oberoi and Bipasha Basu in lead roles
Masoom (1983)
The film that marked the directorial debut of Shekhar Kapur is an adaptation of the 1980 novel 'Man, Woman and Child' by Erich Segal which was also adapted into a Malayalam movie Olangal and an American movie Man, Woman and Child. The film stars Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi in lead roles along with Tanuja, Supriya Pathak and Saeed Jaffrey. It features Jugal Hansraj, Aradhana and Urmila Matondkar as child actors
Kai Po Che (2013)
This buddy sports drama starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Rajkummar Rao, and Amit Sadh in the lead was based on Chetan Bhagat's 2008 novel '3 Mistakes Of My Life'
Lootera (2013)
This is a period romantic drama whose second half is inspired by O Henry's 1907 short story 'The Last Leaf'
Maqbool (2003)
Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Maqbool is adapted from Shakespeare's popular play 'Macbeth'. The film stars Irrfan, Tabu, Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Piyush Mishra, Murali Sharma and Masumeh Makhija
2 States (2014)
Based on Chetan Bhagat's 2009 novel of the same name with story written by Varman and Bhagat, the film stars Arjun Kapoor and Alia Bhatt with Amrita Singh, Ronit Roy, Revathi and Shiv Kumar Subramaniam in supporting roles
Haider (2014)
This Vishal Bhardwaj-directorial is a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. It is also based on Basharat Peer's memoir Curfewed Night. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, and Irrfan Khan
Guide (1965)
Based on R. K. Narayan's 1958 novel The Guide, the film narrates the story of Raj (Anand), a freelance tour guide and Rosie (Rehman), the suppressed wife of a wealthy archaeologist
Hello (2008)
The film is based on Chetan Bhagat's novel, One Night @ the Call Center. The film directed by Atul Agnihotri starred Sharman Joshi, Sohail Khan, Gul Panag, Isha Koppikar, Amrita Arora, and Sharat Saxena in the lead roles. It also had cameo roles by Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif
Half Girlfriend (2017)
Directed by Mohit Suri and starring Arjun Kapoor nd Shraddha Kapoor in the lead, the film is based on the novel of the same name by Chetan Bhagat
Devdas (2002)
Based on the 1917 novel of the same name by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the film narrates the story of Devdas Mukherjee (Khan), a wealthy law graduate who returns from London to marry his childhood friend, Parvati "Paro" (Rai). However, the rejection of their marriage by his own family sparks his descent into alcoholism, ultimately leading to his emotional deterioration and him seeking refuge with the golden-hearted courtesan Chandramukhi (Dixit). The book has been adapted for screen multiple times in various languages with different interpretations
3 Idiots (2011)
Adapted loosely from Chetan Bhagat's novel Five Point Someone, the film stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi in the titular roles
Aisha (2010)
The Sonam Kapoor and Abhay Deol-starrer is set in the upper-class society of Delhi and is an adaptation of Jane Austen's 1815 novel Emma with the same tone as the cult Hollywood film Clueless which is also an adaptation of Austen's novel
7 Khoon Maaf (2011)
The film that stars Priyanka Chopra in the lead role tells the story of a femme fatale, Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes, an Anglo-Indian woman who causes six deaths in an unending quest for love.7 Khoon Maaf is an adaptation of the short story "Susanna's Seven Husbands" by Ruskin BondAfter Bhardwaj saw the possibility of a script in the short story, he requested Bond to develop the story for a film adaptation. Bond expanded his 4-page short story into an 80-page novella, and later Bhardwaj co-wrote the script with Matthew Robbins
Angoor (1982)
Gulzar's film was a remake of 1963 Bengali language comedy film Bhranti Bilas, a Uttam Kumar classic, that is based on Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's Bengali novel by the same name, which itself is based on Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors
