Telugu filmmakers are looking at B-town for inspiration, scripts and hits. The trend was put on back burner by T-town dream merchants after Shankardada Zindabad (a remake of Lage Raho Munnabhai) flopped, but Billa (a remake of Don) which hit the screens last year did good BO biz. In 2010, three B-town hits – Love Aaj Kal, Race and 3 Idiots – will be remade in Telugu. However, the Telugu filmmakers have chosen three different genres for the remakes and all the films are expected to be star-studded.

Love Aaj Kal’s Telugu version has just been launched amid a lot of fanfare. Pawan Kalyan who essays the lead role in the LAJK remake is doing a romantic film after many years (Tholi Prema and Kushi). For director Jayanth, it will be his second Hindi remake after Shankardada MBBS (a remake of Munnabhai MBBS which was a sensational success). “I wanted to do a film with Pawan in 1998, am able to do so only now. Though we are remaking LAJK, we have made a lot of changes in the storyline, but retained the soul of the original,” he says. Deepika Padukone and Samantha are being considered for the female lead’s role.

An inside source in the production house that’s remaking the edge-of-the-seat Race starring Ravi Teja, says the film isn’t a frame-to-frame copy and there will be some “changes”. The remake of 3 Idiots which has been on the cards for a while now, might happen too. A leadingproduction house is likely to pay a whopping amount for the rights. Reportedly, Pawan Kalyan and other big stars have watched it, but the cast hasn’t been finalised yet.

Not all remakes are BO winners. Director Vijayabhaskar couldn’t make a winner out of Bhale Dongalu, (a remake of Bunty Aur Babli). “When it comes to remakes, our work is doubled as we need to make the right amount of changes to suit the taste of the local audience without diluting the emotional quotient of the original,” he says.

Well…you win some and you lose some as they say!