Korea’s Anthology Studios will collaborate to remake Drishyam franchise in Korean

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Never mind if the Hollywood project to remake Munna Bhai MBBS fell through two decades ago, but right now, an Indian film will be remade in Korean, and we can cheer to that!

Producer Kumar Mangat Pathak is all set to take his franchise Drishyam to Korea. At the Indian Pavilion in Cannes, the producer, along with Anthology Studios from there, announced a partnership for the remake of the franchise in Korea. Anthology Studios is founded by former Warner Bros local Korean production head, Jay Choi, Parasite actor Song Kang-ho and acclaimed director Kim Jee-woon.

The two studios will jointly produce the remake, marking the first collaboration between an Indian and a Korean studio, and the first time a Hindi film will be officially remade in the Korean language. Anthology Studios will remake all the films in the Drishyam franchise, with production on the first installment expected to start next year.

Drishyam has been one of the most successful franchises in the Indian film industry. The original film was Mohanlal’s Malayalam’s Drishyam, which was released a decade ago in 2013. The film saw remakes in Kannada (Drishya) and Telugu (Drushyam) both in 2014, and both Papanasam in Tamil and Drishyam in Hindi in 2015. With the Malayalam sequel, Drishyam 2 in 2021, it also had a Hindi sequel of the same name in 2022, which emerged as a mega-hit. Drishyam 3 is now being made simultaneously in Malayalam with Mohanlal and in Hindi with Ajay Devgn. The franchise is being written and directed by Jeethu Joseph in Malayalam, while the Hindi versions were directed respectively by the late Nishikant Kamat and Abhishek Pathak, who will also now direct the third Hindi film.

Kumar Mangat Pathak said, “I’m excited that the Drishyam franchise is being made in Korean, a first for a Hindi film. This will not only increase its reach outside India but will also put Hindi cinema on the global map. All these years, we have been inspired by Korean fare and now they have found a muse in one of our films. What can be a bigger achievement for the Indian film fraternity?”

Jay Choi added, “We are thrilled to have an opportunity to remake a massively successful Hindi film with a touch of originality from Korean cinema. And the remake has greater significance as the first major co-production between Korea and India. Through our partnership, we will be able to bring the best of both Indian and Korean cinema and make a meaningful remake that is as excellent as the original.”

Korea has been a rich (unofficial or official) source for Hindi films, especially in the last two decades, with The Outlaws (Radhe), Montage (Te3n), A Bittersweet Life (Awarapan), Barfi! (Lovers Concerto), Bharat (Ode to my Father), Ek Villain (I Saw the Devil), Zinda (Old Boy), Murder 2 (The Chaser) among them.