Malayalam cinema is currently under the sequels spell. The next few months will see a host of them, with the dad of all sequels—‘Oru CBI Diary Kurippu’ series-part 5—as Mammootty still goes strong as the shrewd officer Sethuramaiyyar.
Others include the laugh riot ‘In Harihar Nagar’ with their band of four merry men, the racy political thriller, ‘The King and the Commissioner’, Mohanlal’s super hit ‘Naduvazhigal’, and ‘Mathilukalkappuram’ (the second part of the Adoor Gopalakrishnan movie, ‘Mathilukal’).
How challenging is it for a filmmaker to make a newer version of his super-hit film and retain the same thrill? “It is all about the hit quotient,” says Renji Panikker, script writer of ‘The King and the Commissioner’. “As for The King, even after 16 years both the characters are still fresh in the public memory, so why not cash in on that? You have an established brand, and it is easier to sell that rather than think of a new idea. But there is, undoubtedly, a risk factor. So, you have to tweak the sequel to match the expectations of the audience.”
SN Swamy, the writer of the CBI series, says sequels are usually a sure bet at the box office. “The director feels more confident as his earlier films have been accepted by the audience,” he says. “Thereafter, it is only a matter of maintaining the same thrill. The ‘CBI Diary Kurippu’ is akin to a James Bond movie, with intriguing stories in every sequel.”
In fact, ‘2 Harihar Nagar’, the sequel of Siddique-Lal’s satirical comedy, ‘In Harihar Nagar’, generated hype and had a much sleeker presentation, but lacked the chutzpah of the original. “It is about making a sequel of a successful movie rather than a good one,” says actor Jagadeesh, who has acted in all the Harihar Nagar films. “Unless you have a good script, no film will work.”
Producers and stars alike are trying to persuade old-time writers and directors to write sequels in a contemporary package. Of course, the formula might not work all the time. The Mammootty-starrer, ‘August 15’, a sequel to ‘August 1’ did not do well. “The main character Perumal lacked appeal,” says the scriptwriter, Swamy.
The feasibility of sequels, notwithstanding, several films are already on the floors. Mammootty, along with director Anwar Rasheed is planning to make a sequel to ‘Rajamanikyam’.
Meanwhile, Mohanlal’s action thriller ‘Rajavinte Magan’ is said to be a remake of the original, with Prithviraj essaying Lal’s role. Also in the loop are Dileep, who will team up with director Johnny Antony to make a sequel to the super-hit comedy, ‘CID Moosa’ (2003), and ‘Runway’ (2004) directed by Joshy. Sathyan Anthikad has also announced a sequel to his 1991 political satire, ‘Sandesham’, to be scripted by Sreenivasan.