2010: The year of sequels!

A slew of sequels are set to hit the silver screen this year. Hit movies like Shah Rukh Khan’s Don, Hrithik Roshan’s Krrish, Salman Khan’s Wanted, Anil Kapoor’s Mr India, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham-starrer Dostana and many others will see their storylines taken forward in a different setting.

While some analysts feel that the idea of making a sequel comes only when the industry suffers from a lack of creativity, film-makers and actors say a hit creates a brand for the movie and the sequel only takes the brand value further.

John Abraham says, “When a film becomes a hit, it is automatically considered for a sequel in India or Hollywood. It has been commercially accepted and has become a brand in itself. So, it makes sense to explore the brand further because audiences will come to the theatres as recall value for the original.”

But film-makers do admit that making sequels has its own limitations. Farhan Akhtar says, “You cannot have a sequel taking the story forward when the plot of the original has already reached its logical end. So new stories are weaved but the name of the hit original movie is carried forward because it has great recall value. In the case of Don, if you remember, Shah Rukh Khan wasn’t caught. Thus, there lies the prospect of taking the story forward.”

We have also learnt sequels of other films like All the Best, Race, No Entry, Singh is Kinng and Welcome are releasing. For actors, sequels are fun as it brings back memories of the past when the entire team reunites.

kshay Kumar says, “A sequel is like a reunion. It’s very nostalgic. It is because of the entire cast and crew’s hard work that a film has done well and sequels are a statement to all of us that we are the best and we should come together again because the audiences want to see us again.”