This World Book Day we revisit some of the best films of Bollywood adapted from the novels.

Inspiration is the keyword of Bollywood, but it generally turns out to be plagiarized.

In the contemporary, they say never judge a book by its movies.

But there are some of the gems in Hindi cinema which is adapted from one of the best novels from India and abroad.

We just gathered some 5 best Hindi films adapted from the novel on the occasion of the World book day.

We are excluding Chetan Bhagat novels because everyone knows that 3 Idiots and Kai Po Che are the adaptation of 5 points someone and 3 mistakes of my life and other adaptations we don’t want to mention.

1) The Guide (1960)- The Guide by R.K Narayan

The Guide directed by Vijay Anand, starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman is considered to be one of the greatest film ever made in Hindi cinema. The film is still remembered for its iconic songs.

The film is based on R.K Narayan’s 1958 novel of the same name which brought its author the 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English.

The novel was also adapted into a play in 1968. The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway.

2) Maqbool (2003)- Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Vishal Bhardwaj is the master of adapting novels for films. If you check is filmography maximum films are adapted from a particular book.

Maqbool released in 2003 is the first film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and the first film in Shakespeare trilogy (others are Omkara-Othello and Haider-Hamlet).

Maqbool is considered as the best adaptation of a book.

It is known for his hard-hitting performances by ace actors such as Irfan Khan, Pankaj Kapur, Tabu, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri.

3) Devdas (1955)- Devdas by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay

Devdas is the most celebrated novel which is adapted 5 times in Hindi cinema. 1928, 1936, 2002 and Dev D which was a modern adaptation was released in 2009.

But 1955 version directed by Bimal Roy starring Dilip Kumar as Devdas, Suchitra Sen as Paro and Vyjayanthimala as Chandramukhi is the best adaptation of the novel.

Dilip Kumar was in top form of his career and it is an earlier example of how the actor is known for his natural acting. This film also contributed to the image of the actor for his tragedy king persona.

4) Parineeta (2005)- Parineeta by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

One more Sarat Chandra’s novel was adapted to a 2005 film directed by Pradeep Sarkar.

The film marked the debut of Vidya Balan, co-starring Saif Ali Khan, and Sanjay Dutt.

Parineeta primarily revolves around the lead characters, Lalita and Shekhar. Since childhood, Shekhar and Lalita have been friends and slowly this friendship blossoms into love. A series of misunderstandings surface and they are separated with the conniving schemes of Shekhar's father. The plot deepens with the arrival of Girish, who supports Lalita's family. Eventually, Shekhar's love defies his father's greed and he seeks Lalita.

The film is also noted for the scenes which are not in the book, notably the climax of the film.

5) Masoom (1983)- Man, Woman, and Child by Erich Segal

Masoom was the directorial debut of critically acclaimed filmmaker Shekar Kapur.

This coming-of-age film stars veteran actors such as Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi.

It features Jugal Hansraj, Aradhana and Urmila Matondkar as child actors.

The film spoke about adapting and accepting the illegitimate child of the protagonist by his wife which was adapted from Erich Segal's novel Man, Woman, and Child.

The screenplay, dialogues, and lyrics are by Gulzar with music by R.D. Burman.