Compare ‘Bharat’ With Its Original ‘Ode to My Father’ Trailer

Compare the trailers of Bharat and the original Ode to My Father.

Bharat is a remake of the South Korean film Ode to My Father

The trailer of Salman Khan’s Bharat is out and it’s LOUD. The 3 minute 11 second trailer begins with Salman’s cocky voice over telling viewers how rangeen his life has been... but don’t we all know that already?

Bhai ka circus.

Jump into flashy, highly saturated images of Salman bhai doing daredevil stunts at a local circus and a short lived romance with Disha Patani during bhai’s “jawani” ke din.

Bhai ki jawani.

This is followed by Salman revealing the tale behind him being named Bharat to Katrina Kaif and him being dispatched off to the Middle East to dig up oil.

Bhai ka dost.

In what appears to be a mining accident, Bharat gets flashes of his family having survived the Partition and the trailer then gets taken over by a high pitch patriotic track from Vishal Shekhar, amidst chants of Bharat Mata Ki Jai...!

Bhai ke emotions.

We are put through a montage of several shots of Salman bhai crying, running, punching, donning a naval uniform, fighting pirates at sea, marrying Katrina in a church and finally standing at the gates at the India-Pakistan border. Phew!

Bhai on the border.

Bharat is all high decibel and in your face. Compare this to Ode to My Father’s easy and lyrical narrative in its trailer. The Salman Khan film is a remake of this multiple award winning South Korean epic, which is also one of the country’s highest grossing films.

After watching both the trailers, one can’t but help imagine how the makers of Bharat have almost forcefully superimposed the timelines and historical milestones of South Korea on India. While Ode to My Father was criticised for being pro-right wing and romanticising authoritarian regimes, the film went on to become a blockbuster. However, the simplicity in its story telling and the earnestness of the film’s characters comes through in its trailer. Ode to My Father was also screened at the Berlin Film Festival in 2015.

Salman Khan’s Bharat seems to be just more of the same old patriotic melodrama that we’ve already seen so many times. Why would you remake a film that has been organically written and set around the historical timelines of another country? Also remember what happened the last time Salman produced and featured in the remake of a foreign film which was all show and no substance?