Eve in Calcutta: The Indianization of a Movie Madwoman

In 1913 D. G. Phalke modeled his mythological film, Raja Harischandra, on a Hollywood Biblical spectacle. Thus began the practice of the remake, or "Indianization": transformation of Western movies for the Indian mass audience. Hundreds of American films have passed through this process since then, chosen primarily for their box office potential in India. From early mythologicals through the family comedies of the sixties (The Parent Trap produced three Hindi and several Dravidian language versions) to the violent action films of today (Fatal Attraction turned into Haar Jeet in the North and Aksharathettu in the South), the choice of original has been influenced by changing audience tastes, as well as the dictates of strict censorship.