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Oscar-winner The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Ravi Teja's Kick: The uncanny similarities

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Kick lie on different ends of the cinema spectrum. Still, the undeniable similarities between these two distinctive pieces of cinema are worth noting.

Manoj Kumar R

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar's plot similarities with Kick.

Maverick filmmaker Wes Anderson won his first Oscar in the Best Live Action Short Film category at the 2024 Academy Awards for helming The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. The movie is based on the short story penned by Roald Dahl and features an ensemble of extremely talented actors, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, and Ben Kingsley. You might be wondering about the connection between this film and director Surender Reddy's outright commercial entertainer, Kick, starring Telugu star Ravi Teja

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Kick lie on different ends of the cinema spectrum. The former is a carefully constructed, dense film with high literary value, offering a quirky adaptation of a short story pushing the boundaries of storytelling in cinema. The latter is an unapologetic commercial entertainer produced for mass consumption. Needless to say, the contrast between the two is evident.

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Still, the undeniable similarities between these two distinctive pieces of cinema are worth noting.

Henry Sugar and Kick

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, streaming on Netflix, revolves around, as the title suggests, Henry Sugar. The film begins with a writer unfolding Henry Sugar's transformation from a self-obsessed millionaire to a magnanimous philanthropist.

Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Henry Sugar, who discovers a slim book containing ancient yoga practices that enable him to see everything. He dedicates months and years to perfecting this extraordinary technique, which had previously allowed a circus man to see without using his eyes. As Henry gains highly developed concentration powers, he uses them to gamble at casinos and make quick money.

However, when he realizes that he can amass money faster and easier than anyone else, he loses interest and the drive to accumulate wealth. Money ceases to be a differentiator in his life, and the challenge of making more money no longer excites him.

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On the flip side, Henry Sugar discovers a more fulfilling use for all the money he could make through gambling: helping the poor and needy. He travels from place to place, assuming various disguises, playing cards, making money, and wiring it to a company in Switzerland. His trusted accountant, John Winston (Dev Patel), then reroutes the funds to hospitals and other charity foundations run by Henry Sugar.

A tale of cinematic coincidence or creative inspiration?

Interestingly, this is also the main plot of Kick sans yoga powers. In the 2009 Telugu blockbuster, Ravi Teja plays a maverick named Kalyan. Uninterested in the mediocrity of a 9-5 job and only seeking activities that give him a "kick," he discovers the ultimate thrill in helping those in need. This sets him on a path of self-discovery that leads him to rob the country's most powerful and wealthy individuals. Kalyan then uses the money to support the medical bills of children from poor families.

The uncanny similarities between these two movies leave us with two possibilities: Surender Reddy made Kick after being inspired by Roald Dahl's short story or it could be a coincidence. It's not uncommon for similarities between artistic works to emerge unintentionally.

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