Cinema Paithiyam was a remake of Hindi film Guddi

The Hindi film industry today is in the process of making films that were originally South Indian blockbusters. These include a lot of films like Jersey and Arjun Reddy. But the reverse has also happened and a lot of Hindi cinema gems have been remade in South Indian languages as well. Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi was remade into Tamil as Cinema Paithiyam with Jai Shankar in the lead, and a very young Kamal Haasan in a supporting role. The remake also garnered a lot of accolades. Released in 1975, it went on to complete a golden jubilee at the box office, an unparalleled feat among black and white Tamil films.

For those who have not seen both films, Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi featured Jaya Bhaduri and Dharmendra in lead roles. Guddi narrated the storyline of Kusum (Jaya), a cinephile who is extremely passionate about Hindi films. She assumes that things shown in movies are related to real life as well. She is crazy about the movie star and actor ‘Dharmendra’ (Dharmendra himself) and is ready to go to any lengths to meet him. Even though Kusum is a grown-up, she is obsessed with the world of films and Dharmendra and is not ready to get married to someone other than him. A young boy is deeply in love with her but Kusum doesn’t reciprocate her emotions.

Finally, her uncle decides to take the help of Dharmendra himself and the star shows her the reality of the film world. Kusum realises her fault and finally decides to tie the nuptial knot with the boy who loves her. The poignant storyline and heartfelt performances of actors found ready resonance with the audiences of the south. The song Bole Re Papihara in the voice of debutante Vani Jairam immediately catapulted her to the status of a melody queen. Popular filmmaker Muktha Srinivasan decided to helm the remake and made it such a success that it thrived for 100 days at Devi Sridevi Theatre in Chennai.