Archive · 8 Oct 2026
From Parinda to Broken Horses: Chopra Remakes His Gangster Film
Parinda is a Hindi film about two orphan brothers.
It was directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and released in 1989.
In 2015, Chopra made an English-language film called Broken Horses from the same story.
The new film also follows two brothers, but their names and some details are different.
One brother is a violinist, and the other works as an assassin for a gangster.
They want to start a new life, but the gangster does not want to lose his assassin.
Chopra moved the story from New York to a town near the US-Mexico border.
He said the film is about family and brotherhood.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra directed Parinda in 1989 and its English-language remake, Broken Horses, in 2015.
Parinda follows orphan brothers Kishan and Karan, with Kishan working for gangster Anna Seth.
Broken Horses retains the brotherhood story but changes the setting and adds different plot twists.
The remake follows violinist Julius and his brother Buddy as they try to escape gangster Hench.
Chopra said he wanted the English film to preserve the original’s emotional focus on family and brotherhood.
- Who
- Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra made Broken Horses, adapting his 1989 film Parinda.
- What
- Broken Horses is an English-language remake of Parinda, with changes to the setting and story details.
- When
- Parinda was released in 1989; Broken Horses was released in 2015.
- Where
- Broken Horses is set in a town on the US-Mexico border.
- Why
- Chopra wanted to make an English-language version of his own film while preserving its emotional focus on brotherhood and family.
Original story
Remake changes
Setting and plot
Original story
Parinda is a Hindi-language story about brothers Kishan and Karan, with Kishan working for gangster Anna Seth.
Remake changes
Broken Horses shifts the story to a US-Mexico border town and follows Julius, a violinist, and Buddy, an assassin for Hench.
What the remake preserves
Original story
The original centers on the relationship between two brothers.
Remake changes
Chopra said the remake retained the emotional core of brotherhood and family despite its changed setting and story details.
- Original film
- Parinda, released in 1989
- English-language remake
- Broken Horses, released in 2015
- Director of both films
- Vidhu Vinod Chopra
- Parinda's brothers
- Kishan, played by Jackie Shroff, and Karan, played by Anil Kapoor
- Gangster in Parinda
- Anna Seth, played by Nana Patekar
- Setting of Broken Horses
- A town on the US-Mexico border
- Remake's brothers
- Julius and Buddy