Subhash K Jha

Even as Bollywood producers continue to "remake / rip-off / adapt / modify" films from foreign sources without a by-your-leave, producer-director Ravi Chopra is very happy and at peace for having lawfully purchased the rights of Jonathan Lynn's 1992 courtroom drama My Cousin Vinny.

"Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai is now almost complete. And we haven't retained too much of the original idea except the thought of young boys getting into legal trouble and being bailed out by a benevolent lawyer. The rest is all ours. Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai hardly looks like My Cousin Vinny. Still, we went out of our way to acquire the original's rights. I'd advice other Bollywood directors to do the same before remaking a film. All it cost us is one percent of the total budget of the original film. And then no one points a finger at you."

One of the major changes introduced into Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai is a love triangle among Govinda, Lara Dutta and Tabu. Says Chopra, "Tabu's character was never there in the original. We wrote her into the courtroom drama as a public prosecutor who falls for defense lawyer, Govinda. What we really liked about this story was its social relevance. Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai questions the loopholes in the legal system. It also shows how any man no matter how humble his background, can rise in life provided he's willing to persevere. Govinda plays a guy who climbs out of his backward background to become a lawyer. Our banner B R Films has always been associated with socially relevant films. We addressed ourselves to the rehabilitation of prostitutes in Sadhana in 1958 and to widow rehabilitation in Babul in 2006. Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai continues our tradition."