If it’s good the first time round, it calls for a second helping, and a third… The year 2010 seems to be the year of sequels as the entire industry is busy in making part 2 and part 3 of many successful films. It seems like Bollywood has finally joined Hollywood in the business of making sequels. Film industry is slowly adopting this extension of former ones as a tradition.
After the sequels of hit movies like Dhoom, Golmaal, Sarkar Raj, Krrish for Koi Mil Gaya and Laga Raho Munna Bhai, now movies like Murder, Dostana, Dabanng, Rock On, which logically do not require a second part are also joining the mad rush of sequels. But, does this new trend excite movie buffs anymore?
Says Smitashish Sengupta, “A sequel to a hit film like that of Hera Pheri had a sequel Phir Hera Pheri or Dhoom had a Dhoom 2, but coming out with a third part, kills the fun. Looks like our film industry suddenly is running out of fresh ideas, which is why the directors and producers are opting for remakes of either classic movies, or stepping up for sequels.”
But many beg to differ. Says Abhishek Malhotra, a law student, “Producers feel they could tow the line of a successful formula and make sequels, but that is just a filmmaker’s point of view.
For the audience every film (no matter a first edition or a sequel) is a new movie. At times, the expectations are so high that it works against a sequel, as in case of Sarkar Raj.”
Agrees Shobit Sujay, a marketing executive, “Although, the concept hit well with some movies like Laga Raho Munna Bhai and Golmaal Returns, but a sequel for every movie isn’t a good idea. The expectations among the viewers for sequels is also high. Audiences do make comparisons with the prequels, and if fails to hold that grace and potential, it’s a loss of effort.”
Says Vasudha Gupta, a young documentary filmmaker, “Sequels make sense only when there are threads in the story that need to be milked for yet another film. If the film is unduly stretched, it loses its charm and appeal. For example, look what happened in the case of a couple of Ram Gopal Varma’s films. A filmmaker should know where the possibility of lengthening a story ends. As an audience you want to see variety and new stories. Over use of similar plots, storylines, and ideas bore us. Sequels work when the story of a film is too gripping to lose fizz soon and has some mass interest, like the Harry Potter films or the Vampire series.”
According to Taran Adarash, a trade analyst, it’s a rare case when sequels don’t work. “Sequels have become hot subjects these days. What’s wrong in planning second part, if the first part (original) movie was a hit at the box office. Afterall, it’s a win-win situation, as they spell out big business to the moviemakers and prove double entertainment for the viewers, who look forward to their release.”