India, Dec. 13 -- In Alexandre Dumas's 1844 tale of vengeance, sailor Edmond Dantes is framed and thrown into a hellish island prison. He escapes, reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, and extracts epic revenge. The 2002 movie has less brooding, more action. The payback comes via sword fights. The movie is also more romantic. Edmond gets his Mercedes. On screen, everything is sweeter, neater. But nowhere near as deep. Disney's 1989 cartoon is all sunshine and talking sea creatures. Ariel trades her voice for legs to pursue Prince Eric. Sea witch Ursula is the villain only because she wants her deal honoured. But Ariel gets her legs, voice and man. In the OG tale, the mermaid also desires a human soul. Her tongue is chopped off by the Sea Witch. Her prince marries a human. She dissolves into sea-foam. This tale of a PTSD-riddled veteran, waging a one-man war, is Sylvester Stallone at his finest. But it's not like David Morrell's 1972 novel. Book Rambo is morally murky. He kills people and their dogs. The book ends with Rambo and Sheriff Teasle dying in a showdown. Movie Rambo wounds people. He gets arrested and rebranded as an underdog. The tweak spawned a money-spinning franchise. In the 1850 novel, Hester Prynne, must wear a scarlet "A" (for adultery) after bearing a child out of wedlock. She bears her public shaming with dignity, while her lover, Dimmesdale is torn by guilt and comes clean as he dies. The 1995 movie is steamy, with witch-hunt subplots, and a happy ending. Ugh. In Jodi Picoult's 2004 novel My Sister's Keeper and its movie adaptation, teen Anna sues her parents when she learns she was conceived just to be her sick sister Kate's organ donor. The book wrestles with ethics and family duty. Anna wins the case but dies in a car crash, saving Kate. In the movie, Kate chooses to die, so Anna can live on. Changing the OG twist makes it a blame game no one asked for. Keigo Higashino's 2005 thriller, The Devotion of Suspect X, follows Yasuko, who ends up murdering her abusive ex. Yasuko's neighbour Ishigami, secretly in love with her, helps cover up the crime. He takes the fall for them before they own up to the murder. Sujoy Ghosh's 2023 version, starring Kareena Kapoor and Jaideep Ahlawat, flips the ending. Mother and daughter walk free. AJ Finn's 2018 book follows an agoraphobic woman, Anna Fox, who spots Jane, across the street, being stabbed. The family denies that an attack took place. Turns out, the person stabbed wasn't Jane. Filmmaker Joe Wright added an extra murder in the end. The killer's motivation changes too. And Anna gets much more power. Both Robin Lee's 2017 book and the 2024 movie follow a 40-year-old single mom falling for a 24-year-old boy-band heartthrob. Both tackle ageism, sexism and female desire. But while book Solene ghosts Hayes to focus on her daughter. Movie Solene reunites with Hayes after five years. A rare happily-ever-after that doesn't feel forced. In Frank Herbert's 1965 novel, the 'pre-born' child Alia Atreides kills Baron Harkonnen. In the 2024 movie, her sibling Paul Atreides does the deed. Book Chani remains Paul's devoted ally even after he marries Princess Irulan for political reasons. Movie Chani (Zendaya, who would never stand for this!) straight up leaves him. Same title, wildly different stories. The 2025 Netflix adaptation swaps the book's Eleanor Duran (Ohio) for Anna De La Vega (New York) but keeps her year at Oxford, where she falls for poetry professor Jamie Davenport - who's secretly battling cancer. Julia Whelan's 2018 book let Jamie live, let them visit Europe together. In the movie, Jamie dies. Anna does Europe solo in honour of him and their connection. More tears, but also a better resolution....