When Shakespeare inspired Bollywood!!

Today marks the  400^th death anniversary of one of the best writers in the world.

William Shakespeare's plays are well known to one and all. In fact, Bollywood too has taken inspiration from the writer's plays time and again.

On this day, we would like to reminisce B-Town's films that have adapted the renowned writer's plays.

Maqbool based on Macbeth

The fact that Maqbool had a star studded cast was enough for the film to do well. Add in Shakespeare's brilliant play Macbeth's adaptation and direction by Vishal Bharadwaj, the film became critically acclaimed. Released in 2003, Maqbool starred Tabu, Irrfan Khan and Pankaj Kapoor in the lead roles. Did you readers know that Maqbool was officially Irrfan Khan's first lead role in a Bollywood film?

Omkara based on Othello

Omkara's star cast of Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi and Saif Ali Khan in itself was a fantastic formula for a successful film. Each of the above mentioned actors has done landmark roles in their career. This was Vishal Bharadwaj's second film that he adapted from one more stellar play of Shakespeare - Othello. A lesser known fact about this film is that the name 'Omkara' was chosen through a public poll.

Haider based on Hamlet

Haider completed Vishal Bharadwaj's trilogy of adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays. Based on his famous play Hamlet, Haider won Shahid Kapoor his first Best Actor award. Haider also starred Shraddha Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Tabu and Kay Kay Menon in pivotal roles. So dedicated was Shahid to this film that he agreed to go completely bald.

Ram Leela, Ishaqzaade, Qayamat Se QayamatTak based on Romeo and Juliet

That Bollywood is obsessed with William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet is known to the whole world. And the fact that some of the landmark films in Bollywood have adapted the play is testimony to that fact. Mansoor Khan's Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Habib Faisal's Ishaqzaade and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki RaasLeela Ram-Leela, all super hit films' basic plot is based on Romeo and Juliet. This Shakespeare play's whole concept was 'saath jiyenge saath marenge', which is a hit with the Indian audience.

Angoor based on A Comedy of Errors

As the name of the adaptation goes, this film was was indeed a comedy of errors. The plot revolves around a large family that gets separated.

Out of the many Bollywood films that adapted famous Shakespeare plays, these were a few that left a mark on the viewers minds.

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