The great Alfred Hitchcock, appropriately called the Master of Suspense, passed away four decades back, but his legacy contained by some very memorable classics continue to inspire filmmakers and enthrall viewers even after so many years. Some of his masterpieces include movies like Rope, Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, Dial M For Murder, The Birds, North By Northwest, Frenzy among others. From creative shots to fantastic play with lights and shadows, not to mention having morally ambiguous characters, his movies, while acclaimed in their era, were also way ahead of its time. The 39 Steps: Benedict Cumberbatch to Reunite with Patrick Melrose Director Edward Berger for Netflix Series.

Like I said before, Hitchcock's movies have hugely influenced filmmakers, be it in composing certain shots or, as in the case of the below movies, heavily inspiring their plots. On the occasion of the legendary filmmaker's birth anniversary, we look at 11 Hindi movies that were heavily inspired by Hitchcockian thrillers.

Miss Mala

A Still From Miss Mala

This lesser known Kishore Kumar-Vyjayanthimala movie might have songs and romance but it has plot similar to one of Hitchcock's earlier thrillers, the 1945 film Spellbound, starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. Spellbound itself was a adapted from a novel The House of Dr Edwardes that came out in 1927,

Kohraa

Biswajeet and Waheeda Rahman in Kohraa

The 1964 classic is directed by Biren Nag and starring Waheeda Rehman, Biswajeet and Lalita Pawar. It is a remake of Hitchcock's famous mystery thriller Rebecca, about a woman who marries a rich widower, but finds herself being haunted by the memories of his first wife within her new house. Rebecca, itself an adaptation of a novel, will find a place in this list again. Rebecca Movie Review: Lily James, Armie Hammer’s Netflix Film Doesn’t Go Beyond Being a Decent Remake of the Alfred Hitchcock Classic.

Jewel Thief

Vyjayanthimala, Dev Anand and Tanuja in Jewel Thief

Fans of Dev Anand would remember this classic heist thriller, directed by Vijay Anand. The movie is actually influenced by two Hitchcock films, To Catch a Thief (1955) and Vertigo (1958). But at least, the originals did not have evergreen musical numbers like "Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara" and "Hothon Mein Aisi Baat".

Chakravyuha

Rajesh Khanna in Chakravyuha

Who thought the director of family dramas like Choti Si Baat and Chitchor would be a Hitchcockian? Basu Chatterjee made a spy film (his only action thriller), starring Rajesh Khanna and Vinod Mehra, that is loosely based on another spy thriller, The 39 Steps. Interestingly, let the Mallu in me also tell you that The 39 Steps also influences Mohanlal's popular comedy -thriller, Hello My Dear Wrong Number, directed by Priyadarshan.

Benaam

Promotional Still of Benaam

Amitabh Bachchan played the lead in this 1974 film, also starring Moushumi Chatterjee, Madan Puri and Prem Chopra. The plot of the film is about an innocent family getting trapped in a spy conspiracy during a vacation. It is a remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much, directed by Hitchcock and starring James Stewart and Doris Day. James Stewart Birth Anniversary: From Rear Window to Anatomy of a Murder, 7 Best Films of the Hollywood Legend Ranked As per IMDb.

Inaam Dus Hazaar

Sanjay Dutt and Meenakshi Seshadri in Inaam Dus Hazaar

North By Northwest is one of the funnest films Hitchcock has ever made, about an advertising executive mistaken for a spy and being chased about the town by both intelligence agencies and baddies. The plotline has inspired the 1987 Hindi film Inaam Dus Hazaar, starring Sanjay Dutt and Meenakshi Seshadri.

Aitbaar

Raj Babbar and Dimple Kapadia in Aitbaar

Aitbaar is a 1985 thriller, directed by the late Mukul Anand. starring Raj Babbar, Dimple Kapadia, Suresh Oberoi, Sharat Saxena and Danny Denzongpa. It is a remake of Hitchcock's 1954 film Dial M For Murder, about a man hiring an assassin to kill his wife who he believes is having an affair behind his back. Sonchiriya, Ek Villain, Baazigar – 13 Bollywood Movies Where a Main Lead Gets Shockingly Killed Before the Interval Point.

Humraaz

Akshaye Khanna, Ameesha Patel and Bobby Deol in Humraaz

Dial M For Murder also finds its influence in this Abbas-Mustan film, starring Bobby Deol, Ameesha Patel and Akshaye Khanna. Known for Akshaye's first negative role and Himesh Reshammiya's songs, Humraaz is actually more closer in semblance to the 1998 Michael Douglas-starrer A Perfect Murder, which itself is inspired the Hitchcockian film. Though Humraaz makes the lead protagonist a sympathetic character in the end.

Soch

Sanjay Kapoor and Raveena Tandon in Soch

Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 movie Strangers on a Train is about two strangers embroiled in what one terms as a perfect murder by having someone close of the other. Soch, a 2002 film starring  Sanjay Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Arbaaz Khan and Aditi Govitrikar, borrows heavily from the premise of this film. And it is not the only one...

Strangers

Promotional Still of Strangers

Aanand L Rai, yes that Aanand L Rai, made his directorial debut in 2007 by not only remaking Strangers on a Train, but also borrowing the first word from the title for his. The movie starred  Jimmy Sheirgill, Kay Kay Menon, Nandana Sen, and Sonali Kulkarni.

Anamika

Dino Morea and Minissha Lamba in Anamika

Told ya, Rebecca would make a return here. This time, the suspense thriller was directed by Anant Mahadevan, and starred Dino Morea, Minissha Lamba and Koena Mitra in the lead roles.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2021 09:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).