The recent release and success of Judwaa-2 ( Rs. 100 Crore mopped up in the weekend) has brought into limelight the fact that film-makers have found sequels saleable. In the last few years this has become a formula and many film-makers are finding it easier to rehash old stuff on their road to success.
The various aspects of having a film reprised are complex in nature and it is intriguing why the sequels have been popular more in the last few years, than in the earlier periods. It is a general perception that it is only the last decade and a half in which the trend has gained prominence.
In fact after 2000 , there was a deluge of sequels. Sequels of more than 25 films were made after 2000, totalling almost a 100 films or so !
It has become common-place now to have a sequel and therefore, there is no point recounting sequels released post-2000. The idea is to explore the trend of sequels down the years till 2000 and see if they were, indeed, worth remembering.
This keeps the subject of sequels interesting.
It appears that the ploy of making a sequel to an earlier film has been used with aplomb in yesteryears also !
Check out below for a touchdown on the topic of Sequels in Hindi Films.
One of the earliest instances of a sequel was in 1943 , when after a gap of 8 years, Homi Wadia made Hunterwali ki beti, which was a sequel of the 1935 film featuring Fearless Nadia !
The first Hunterwali had Nadia performing stunts, a sight not seen by audiences, specially from a female artiste. This probably had audience in awe and the sequel hit the bull's eye again, as far as box office is concerned.
At this point of time, it is important to delve on what actually is a sequel. The continuing of the story from where Part One has been left is the normal way of categorising a sequel. The different episodes of the same characters are also generally acceptable as sequels. But apart from these broad sub-categories, there are many other instances of making a sequel. The plot may be different but the mood of the film may be the same, with identical elements and this would make it a sequel, as we will see later in the blog. The important thing is that the two films are made or directed by the same banner/director , which gives the sequels their unique identity. In Bangle films, for instance Satyajit Ray's three films Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar formed a triology which was based on two novels. There are many such examples of sequels in Hindi films , as we shall see.
On to the 50s and we had Homi Wadia again start off the Zimbo series. Zimbo ( 1958) was followed by Zimbo Shehar Mein ( 1960). The first film was about a boy lost in jungle ( a favourite story of the Mowgli -type ) and the story revolves around a secret formula and villains in the forest. The sequel, as the name tells us brought Zimbo to the city. There was a final film called Zimbo ka Beta also, released in 1966.
Azad and Chitra were the lead pair in many such stunt films which carved out a niche for themselves by the time 60s arrived.
The B grade films of the 60s found another hero: Tarzan !
There have been a total of 18 films having Tarzan in the title, except Tarzan the Car , which was a film about a car named Tarzan. Out of the 18 films , one was in the 30s, two in the 70s and one in 80s ( Hemant Birje and Kimi Katkar film).
The remaining 14 films were all in the 60s. Tarzan was associated with wide-ranging subjects ( Tarzan and .....), the more hilarious being Gorilla, Jadugar, Jadui Chirag and Jalpari , apart from the usual Hercules, King Kong and Delilah. Then there was Tarzan comes to Delhi and Tarzan in fairyland.
So, which of these were sequels ?
Director A. Shamsheer had two of them :Tarzan and Delilah and Tarzan and King Kong two years apart ( 1964 and 1966). Director Radhakant had Tarzan aur Jadugar and Tarzan aur Jalpari, ending with the 1970 Tarzan 303 !
Interesting to note that actor Azad ( Zimbo, remember ? ) starred in as many as 9 films , the highest someone had acted as Tarzan. Dara Singh and Mumtaz had two Tarzan films together, Tarzan and King Kong and Tarzan comes to Delhi.
The 70s saw a different kind of sequel, the sensitive one. Basu Bhattacharya had his own sequel of the married couple Amar and Mansi and the conjugal tensions they go though in the films Aavishkaar ( 1974) and Grih Pravesh ( 1979). While the former had the pair fall in love and marry, the latter film examined their relationship in an arranged marriage setting. Anubhav, the first such film had Amar and Meeta, but it was essentially the story about the complex institution called marriage and so we can say Basu had a triology, in the real sense.
Ravikant Nagaich, having given us Bond-like films such as Farz and The Train, presented the desi James Bond known as Gun Master G-9, aka Mithun da in Suraksha ( 1979) and Wardaat( 1981).The films covered the adventures of action- oriented dancing Agent , a trigger-happy hero , outsmarting foreign governments and macabre villains.
Director Sawan Kumar Tak had his own take on extra-marital affairs with Souten ( 1983) and Souten Ki Beti ( 1989) . The names of protagonists were also the same : Shyam, Radha and Rukmini, a reminder of the story of Lord Krishna. The plots revolved round the much-in-love couple falling apart due to the Other Woman.He had earlier toyed with "Saajan" in Saajan Bina Suhagan and Saajan Ki saheli. Souten series was probably more popular !
The 60s slick film Jewel Thief got a sequel 20 years later with the title Return of Jewel Thief ( 1996), starring Dev Anand. The film was not a patch on the original and sank without a trace. The ploy to use the thriller of the 60s fell flat as the theme was anachronistic.
In the Nineties, however, the maximum number of sequels ( due to their titles) were churned out by two teams.
The first sequel-churning happened with the Khiladi series with Akshay Kumar and his action sequences. Khiladi ( 1992) , Main Khiladi Tu Anadi ( 1994), Sabsse bada Khiladi (1995), Khiladion ka Khiladi(1996) , Mr and Mrs Khiladi (1997), and International Khiladi(1999). Post 2000, the suffix of 420 and 786 were added to this series.
The second team of David Dhawan-Govinda-Vashu Bhagnani combination gave a long list of
"No. 1"-suffixed films from 1995 to 1999. Coolie, Hero, Aunty, Anari and Biwi, all were No.1. All had the slapstick comedy of the Dhawan/Govinda genre and were generally successful. The 2000 decade additions to No.1 were Beti, Jodi and Shaadi. Though not associated by story of characters , the mere titles suggest that the mood and temper of these films are similar, entitling them to be sequels.
The Khiladi and No.1 franchise gave a solid fillip to the practice of having a sequel of a successful film and one can go through Wikipedia to check out the names of all such reboots. Interestingly, the concept of prequel has also hit the film industry !
All we can say is that whether it is a sequel or an original, the film should be engrossing in content and should have competent performances both on and off-screen. However, if sequels are here to stay, so be it !
The various aspects of having a film reprised are complex in nature and it is intriguing why the sequels have been popular more in the last few years, than in the earlier periods. It is a general perception that it is only the last decade and a half in which the trend has gained prominence.
In fact after 2000 , there was a deluge of sequels. Sequels of more than 25 films were made after 2000, totalling almost a 100 films or so !
It has become common-place now to have a sequel and therefore, there is no point recounting sequels released post-2000. The idea is to explore the trend of sequels down the years till 2000 and see if they were, indeed, worth remembering.
This keeps the subject of sequels interesting.
It appears that the ploy of making a sequel to an earlier film has been used with aplomb in yesteryears also !
Check out below for a touchdown on the topic of Sequels in Hindi Films.
One of the earliest instances of a sequel was in 1943 , when after a gap of 8 years, Homi Wadia made Hunterwali ki beti, which was a sequel of the 1935 film featuring Fearless Nadia !
The first Hunterwali had Nadia performing stunts, a sight not seen by audiences, specially from a female artiste. This probably had audience in awe and the sequel hit the bull's eye again, as far as box office is concerned.
At this point of time, it is important to delve on what actually is a sequel. The continuing of the story from where Part One has been left is the normal way of categorising a sequel. The different episodes of the same characters are also generally acceptable as sequels. But apart from these broad sub-categories, there are many other instances of making a sequel. The plot may be different but the mood of the film may be the same, with identical elements and this would make it a sequel, as we will see later in the blog. The important thing is that the two films are made or directed by the same banner/director , which gives the sequels their unique identity. In Bangle films, for instance Satyajit Ray's three films Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar formed a triology which was based on two novels. There are many such examples of sequels in Hindi films , as we shall see.
On to the 50s and we had Homi Wadia again start off the Zimbo series. Zimbo ( 1958) was followed by Zimbo Shehar Mein ( 1960). The first film was about a boy lost in jungle ( a favourite story of the Mowgli -type ) and the story revolves around a secret formula and villains in the forest. The sequel, as the name tells us brought Zimbo to the city. There was a final film called Zimbo ka Beta also, released in 1966.
Azad and Chitra were the lead pair in many such stunt films which carved out a niche for themselves by the time 60s arrived.
The B grade films of the 60s found another hero: Tarzan !
There have been a total of 18 films having Tarzan in the title, except Tarzan the Car , which was a film about a car named Tarzan. Out of the 18 films , one was in the 30s, two in the 70s and one in 80s ( Hemant Birje and Kimi Katkar film).
The remaining 14 films were all in the 60s. Tarzan was associated with wide-ranging subjects ( Tarzan and .....), the more hilarious being Gorilla, Jadugar, Jadui Chirag and Jalpari , apart from the usual Hercules, King Kong and Delilah. Then there was Tarzan comes to Delhi and Tarzan in fairyland.
So, which of these were sequels ?
Director A. Shamsheer had two of them :Tarzan and Delilah and Tarzan and King Kong two years apart ( 1964 and 1966). Director Radhakant had Tarzan aur Jadugar and Tarzan aur Jalpari, ending with the 1970 Tarzan 303 !
Interesting to note that actor Azad ( Zimbo, remember ? ) starred in as many as 9 films , the highest someone had acted as Tarzan. Dara Singh and Mumtaz had two Tarzan films together, Tarzan and King Kong and Tarzan comes to Delhi.
The 60s also had the Johar-Mehmood team naming films after their screen names and getting some
semblance of respect in the mainstream Hindi cinema. Johar Mehmood in Goa ( 1965) was the first film, showing the two comedians play themselves in a drama of revenge, patriotism and comedy, in the backdrop of the then Portugese- ruled Goa . I.S.Johar directed the film and went on to direct 4 more Johar films: Johar in Bombay ( 1967), Johar in Kashmir(1966), Mera naam Johar(1968) and Johar Mehmood in Hongkong (1971). The films were no great shakes and the slapstick comedy could not make the Brand Johar rise above a level.
Ravikant Nagaich, having given us Bond-like films such as Farz and The Train, presented the desi James Bond known as Gun Master G-9, aka Mithun da in Suraksha ( 1979) and Wardaat( 1981).The films covered the adventures of action- oriented dancing Agent , a trigger-happy hero , outsmarting foreign governments and macabre villains.
Director Sawan Kumar Tak had his own take on extra-marital affairs with Souten ( 1983) and Souten Ki Beti ( 1989) . The names of protagonists were also the same : Shyam, Radha and Rukmini, a reminder of the story of Lord Krishna. The plots revolved round the much-in-love couple falling apart due to the Other Woman.He had earlier toyed with "Saajan" in Saajan Bina Suhagan and Saajan Ki saheli. Souten series was probably more popular !
Another instance of sequel was that of the film Nigaahein ( touted as Nagina -Part II) , which carried forward the Naagin story of Nagina ( 1986) . The fascination for reptiles and that too "ichchhadhaari" had been exploited to the hilt and still the two films within 3 years of each other repeated the same old story. Harmesh Malhotra was the director and this was perhaps the first time that it was explicitly mentioned as a sequel.
The 60s slick film Jewel Thief got a sequel 20 years later with the title Return of Jewel Thief ( 1996), starring Dev Anand. The film was not a patch on the original and sank without a trace. The ploy to use the thriller of the 60s fell flat as the theme was anachronistic.
In the Nineties, however, the maximum number of sequels ( due to their titles) were churned out by two teams.
The first sequel-churning happened with the Khiladi series with Akshay Kumar and his action sequences. Khiladi ( 1992) , Main Khiladi Tu Anadi ( 1994), Sabsse bada Khiladi (1995), Khiladion ka Khiladi(1996) , Mr and Mrs Khiladi (1997), and International Khiladi(1999). Post 2000, the suffix of 420 and 786 were added to this series.
The second team of David Dhawan-Govinda-Vashu Bhagnani combination gave a long list of
"No. 1"-suffixed films from 1995 to 1999. Coolie, Hero, Aunty, Anari and Biwi, all were No.1. All had the slapstick comedy of the Dhawan/Govinda genre and were generally successful. The 2000 decade additions to No.1 were Beti, Jodi and Shaadi. Though not associated by story of characters , the mere titles suggest that the mood and temper of these films are similar, entitling them to be sequels.
The Khiladi and No.1 franchise gave a solid fillip to the practice of having a sequel of a successful film and one can go through Wikipedia to check out the names of all such reboots. Interestingly, the concept of prequel has also hit the film industry !
All we can say is that whether it is a sequel or an original, the film should be engrossing in content and should have competent performances both on and off-screen. However, if sequels are here to stay, so be it !
3 comments:
Nice article.
However I wish to express that there is actually a difference between a sequel, a series and a Trilogy.
Where a few films in the article fall under the category of sequels like Nagina 2,
a few fall in the category of series like Zimbo, Tarzan and G-9........
and a few fall in the category of trilogy like Basu Bhattacharya's 3 films.
Sharing an article on the same for reference.
Basu Bhattacharya's thoughtful trilogy on marital discord including ANUBHAV (1971), AVISHKAAR (1974) and GREH PRAVESH (1979)
Link: http://www.bobbytalkscinema.com/recentpost/Basu-Bhattacharyas-thoughtfu-1309
But overall enjoyed reading it for sure and looking forward for the next.
Cheers
Bobby Sing
Agree with you that these three are used in a similar vein and a bit loosely. However, for hindi film viewers fed on a three-hour drama of well-etched characters, watching the next adventure of the same characters has been few and far between, Hence the lierary liberty taken to fit in similar themes ( but not remakes0.
Thanks for the feedback.
Many of the films you mentioned Amitabh ,don't qualify to be called sequels. Even the Khiladi series don't nor does Judwa- which is a carbon copy of the original, including the songs. Rohit Shetty is called the uncrowned king of sequels[ don't know why he is not mentioned] - with the Golmaal series, which were not a patch on the original Amol Palekar- Bindiya Goswami-Utpal Dutt starrer . Himmatwala too was not a sequel. But yes Singham Returns can surely be dubbed as sequel of Singham [ From Inspector Bajirao to Dy. Commissioner Bajrao] . Hatim Tai and Hatim Tai ki beti too can qualify in this post
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