Remakes shouldn't be a carbon copy of original: Ramesh Aravind

Actor-filmmaker Ramesh Aravind says he isn't against the idea of a movie's remake as long as it doesn't end up being a "carbon copy" of the original. He prefers remaking a story with a touch of creativity.

"I like remaking a story, but not a film in its entirety. When you remake a story, you can make changes to it to suit the local sensibilities. There's some creativity involved in that. I like that process instead of doing a carbon copy of a film," Aravind told IANS.

His debut Kannada directorial "Rama Shama Bhama" was the remake of Kamal Haasan-starrer Tamil hit "Sathi Leelavathi".

"It's one of my favourite films. When I decided to wield the megaphone, I wanted to remake 'Sathi Leelavathi' from a modern-day perspective. The remake came out extremely well," he said.

Aravind's most cherished compliment for the film came from late writer Sujatha.

"After Sujatha sir saw my film, he asked how I could make it so differently from the original. It was a very satisfying compliment because the remake was not a carbon copy of the original," he said.

Aravind supports the idea of remakes because "it's tested and proven".

"The stars prefer doing remakes because they usually do big-budget films and the risk of losing money is high. They do remakes because they want guaranteed returns and I don't see anything wrong in it," he said.

Aravind is currently awaiting the release of his maiden Tamil directorial "Uttama Villain".