AbstractPurposeThis paper explores the transcultural journey of Children of Heaven (Majid Majidi, 1997), an Iranian neorealist masterpiece that has inspired multiple Asian adaptations: Homerun (Jack Neo, Singapore, 2003), Bumm Bumm Bole (Priyadarshan, India, 2010), and Akka Kuruvi (Samy, India, 2022).Design/methodology/approachThrough comparative textual analysis grounded in theories of adaptation, transnational cinema, and cinematic humanism, this study investigates how Majidi's universal narrative of childhood resilience and moral dignity undergoes transformation across distinct cultural, industrial, and aesthetic contexts.FindingsThe analysis reveals that while the narrative core a brother's loss of his sister's shoes and their subsequent trials remains constant, each remake reinterprets Majidi's ethical humanism through its local cultural idioms, cinematic traditions, and ideological imperatives.Originality/valueThe paper argues that these adaptations exemplify how humanist cinema transcends national borders, evolving into localized expressions of shared moral and social concerns.
Alam et al. (Wed,) studied this question.