100 Years of Shakti Samanta: How China Town was remade in Tamil, inspired Amitabh Bachchan’s Don and was ‘COPIED’ by Hollywood; Ashim Samanta reveals, “Salim-Javed told my father, ‘Humne China Town ko tod ke kya banaya hai aap dekhiye’!” – The Headlines

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100 Years of Shakti Samanta: How China Town was remade in Tamil, inspired Amitabh Bachchan’s Don and was ‘COPIED’ by Hollywood; Ashim Samanta reveals, “Salim-Javed told my father, ‘Humne China Town ko tod ke kya banaya hai aap dekhiye’!” – The Headlines

The 100th birth anniversary of Shakti Samanta, one of the finest filmmakers from India, took place on January 13. On this memorable occasion, Shakti Samanta’s son, Ashim Samanta, took a trip down memory lane and shared fascinating trivia from his father’s life. It’s common to hear of Hindi films copying or remaking South or Hollywood films. But Shakti Samanta’s China Town (1962), starring Shammi Kapoor and Shakila, was a rare Hindi film of that time that was officially remade and even copied!

100 Years of Shakti Samanta: How China Town was remade in Tamil, inspired Amitabh Bachchan's Don and was 'COPIED' by Hollywood; Ashim Samanta reveals, "Salim-Javed told my father, 'Humne China Town ko tod ke kya banaya hai aap dekhiye'!"

When asked if China Town was the inspiration behind Amitabh Bachchan’s classic Don (1978), Ashim Samanta told Radio Nasha, “Yes, it is true. Salim-Javed themselves told my dad, ‘Humne China Town ko tod ke kya banaya hai aap dekhiye! Aap appreciate karenge’!”

Ashim continued, “After China Town was made, a Tamil producer (T S Raja Sunderasan) approached my dad and bought its remake rights. He made a Tamil film from China Town (Kudiyirundha Koyil; 1968). Meanwhile, Vijay Amritraj made Double Impact (1991), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. My father saw that film at home with me. While watching the movie, he remarked, ‘Yeh toh China Town hai’! I also agreed with him completely.”

100 Years of Shakti Samanta: How China Town was remade in Tamil, inspired Amitabh Bachchan's Don and was 'COPIED' by Hollywood; Ashim Samanta reveals, "Salim-Javed told my father, 'Humne China Town ko tod ke kya banaya hai aap dekhiye'!"

Ashim Samanta then revealed, “Sometime later, he met Vijay Amritraj at a party. He told him, ‘Tumne China Town ki story leke film bana di’! He was shocked. He said, ‘No. I haven’t done that. I have not even seen China Town’. I have copied a Tamil film’. My dad replied, ‘That Tamil film was an official remake of China Town’ (laughs). So, China Town travelled down South and then also made its way into Hollywood.”

China Town is also remembered for its soundtrack, especially ‘Baar Baar Dekho’. Ashim Samanta gave another fascinating trivia about this song – the term ‘Taali Ho’ didn’t mean clap. It was an expression used by soldiers returning or leaving for battle during World War II.

Also Read: “Bahut sexy lag raha hai!” – Shakti Samanta’s son reveals a kiss-on-the-cheek shot of Madhubala, Ashok Kumar in Howrah Bridge was cut by the Censors

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