It is good books and movies that we befriend when boredom strikes. And for the ardent lovers of the fictional world, when the climax swoops in, they are inspired, heart broken, or left with a lasting smile. A solid fiction possesses the ability to influence us. I read on Quora how the movie Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara inspired some to quit their the life-sucking monotonous jobs to live the life, like it is truly meant to be lived, joyfully.
You would think only positive work of fiction inspires people to take life-changing decisions, but guess what, there have been real crimes that took form as a result of certain movies.
Who told movies were based on life? Sometimes movies also make life, with dark shades.
1. Dhoom inspired Chelembra bank robbery
The story of innovative techniques through which the badass biker robbers conducted the loots was well-received by the audience. While people like you and I saw it as a few hours of superfast entertainment, there were some who actually took inspiration from this movie. Now, what good could come out of taking inspiration from a movie based on a robbery?
The Chelembra bank robbery, which took place in the wee hours of 30 December 2007 in Mallapuram district of Kerala is considered one of the most sensational bank robberies in Kerala’s crime history. The robbers got away with 80 kilograms of gold and 5,000,000 rupees, by digging the hole in the floor of the bank.
2. The Town inspired a series of copycat killings
The crime-drama film of Ben Affleck is an adaptation of a novel by Chuck Hogan, titled Prince of Thieves. In reality, the crime played out when a group of men in NY city committed a whopping 62 robberies, which included $217,000 in stolen cash. The techniques they used in the crime were same as the ones showed in the movie.
Two other similar cases took place in Nebraska and Illinois wherein the robbers appeared in disguises as shown in the movie, involving a group of men wearing skull-faced masks and a woman dressed as a nun.
3. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S inspired paper leaks and cheating in the (sadly) iconic Munna style
Munna could never crack the medical exam if it weren’t for the unusual cheating technique that involved a helpless Dr. Rustam giving Munna answers through a phone while the former sat in the examination hall.
The technique was well implemented by a syndicate of cheats in Delhi, that decided to leak the 10+2 examination paper in a manner similar to what they showed in the movie. Upon interrogation, they confessed that the source of the idea of the paper leak and revealing answers through phone texts was the said movie.
4. The movie Scream, according to an American judge, was a “very good source to learn how to kill someone.”
It gave birth to a series of copycat murders. A notable one being the murder of a Belgian teen Alisson Cambier.
In a very chilling real scenario, Cambier was visiting a 24-year-old Thierry Jaradin in his home. After she refused to accept his proposition, Jaradin went to his room, donned the trademark ghost face costume and picked up 2 large knives. After stabbing Cambier 30 times in the manner similar to the opening scenes of the movie, he called up the police and admitted that he planned the incident after becoming inspired by the movie.
5. Special 26 motivated Amit Agrawal to extort money by posing as a CBI officer
Those who have watched the movie must be knowing it is based on the 1987 heist of The Opera House branch of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, Mumbai. However, this critically acclaimed and one of the best Bollywood movies of 2013, in addition to being an inspiration from a high-profile heist, also inspired a heist.
Amit Agrawal extorted money from the highly rich after taking inspiration from Special 26. During interrogation, Amit Agrawal, who posed as a joint director of CBI, confessed to the police that people were easily dominated and fooled when he presented himself before them as a CBI officer.
In fact, according to a TOI report, the movie inspired as many as 16 cases!
6. Fight Club was an inspiration for Kyle Shaw who set off a series of bombs in various locations in NY city
The most talked about film of 1999, Fight Club became a reality in 2009 when during Memorial Day weekend in NY city, a series of bombs set off in various locations, including a Starbucks cafe. The culprit was eventually found to be a Kyle Shaw, who was the member of a local ‘fight club’. The bombings were modeled after the film’s depiction of demolishing every business seen as a symbol of oppression.
7. Bombay To Goa inspired an employee of a reputable MNC to loot a warehouse
The 1972 Bollywood movie told the story of two characters who desired to become rich overnight by means of robbery. In life, an ex-employee of a reputable MNC along with three other men conspired and looted a warehouse. Here too the motive was to swim in the pool of green bills overnight. They weren’t only inspired by the said movie, but they also confessed to having watched it before acting on the plan.
8. Natural Born Killers inspired the largest number of copycat killings
The story of two individuals with a troubled childhood who fell in love and became mass murderers, started a wave of copycat killings. In fact, they say it inspired the largest number of crimes. And the friends and families of the victims and even the crime fiction writer John Grisham, were said to have attempted to sue the film creators.
Erm, by the way, the story of the movie was written by none other than the man known for giving bizarre twists to violence, Quentin Tarantino.
9. Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! gave birth to an ingenious automobile thief
The movie was inspired from shenanigans of a real person, Devinder Singh (alias Bunty), from VIkaspuri, Delhi. In the movie, the lead Abhay Deol can be see robbing the elite of major Indian cities, often out of fun.
The movie gave wings to the imagination of Israr, who headed the real auto-theft case.
Israr stole vehicles on demand, and he used the best of technology for the same. With a smart approach and the help of technology, he committed thefts in such a way that no technical surveillance could trace him. In fact, most equipment was provided to him by those who demanded him to steal cars for them. He would steal 3-4 vehicles every night.
10. The Dark Knight created an actual maniac Joker
During the midnight screening of The Dark Knight in a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, a mass shooting occurred, triggering an actual The Dark Knight experience. Dressed in tactical clothing, the gunman set off tear gas grenades and fired at the audience with multiple firearms. The shooting claimed 12 lives and left 70 injured. On 26 Aug 2015, James Eagan Holmes, who at the time of the shooting had red dyed hair and called himself ‘The joker’, was charged with 12 life sentences, one for each person he shot.
11. Khosla Ka Ghosla gave fraudsters the idea of reselling DDA plots
Three fraudsters, including 2 DDA (Delhi Development Authorities) employees were involved in reselling DDA plots by forging documents. The modus operandi of their crime was inspired by the movie, revealed the police.