The novel has been adapted twice into Hollywood films. The first, A Kiss Before Dying, was a 1956 film starring Robert Wagner as Bud Corliss, Virginia Leith as Ellen Kingship, Joanne Woodward as Dorothy ('Dorie') Kingship, and Mary Astor as Mrs. Corliss. The film was directed by Gerd Oswald and, except for eliminating the third sister, Marion, he followed the novel's plot fairly closely.[1]
The second adaptation, A Kiss Before Dying, drastically changed the story, and was produced in 1991. It was filmed as a neo-noir starring Matt Dillon as Jonathan Corliss, Sean Young as twins Ellen and Dorothy Carlsson, Diane Ladd as Mrs. Corliss, and Max von Sydow as Thor Carlsson. The movie was directed by James Dearden.[2]
The Bollywood film closely follows the 1991 Hollywood remake rather than the original novel. Substantial changes were made to the protagonist, Ajay Sharma. In the film, Sharma's family is ruined at the hands of his father's employee, Madan Chopra. Thus, Sharma wishes to exact revenge by stealing Chopra's company from him by wooing his two daughters. In this fashion, Sharma is more of an anti-hero than a pure villain, and the aspect of vengeance dominates much of the film.