Sequels are in trend in Tamil cinema. Stars, directors and studios are in a mad rush to start second installments of their success stories. This phenomenon has caught the admiration of even Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, two of the top actors in Kollywood. When they prefer to go this way, many see this as a success formula in an industry that finds it extremely edgy due to the piracy menace, difficulty in finding adequate cinema halls and increasing production costs.
With this trend apparently giving them a breather, at least a dozen movies, which are sequels of hit films of the past, are currently on floors.
“The trend began much earlier in Hollywood. Bollywood was gripped by the sequel fever in the early 2000s. Though it has caught up in Kollywood, the trend has now firmly gripped Tamil cinema,” says M. Bharat Kumar, an industry analyst for the past two decades.
Sequels on floors now are: 2.0, the second part of Enthiran or Robot (Rajinikanth), Vishwaroopam 2 and Indian 2 (Kamal Haasan), Saamy Square, part two of Saamy (Vikram), Sandakozhi 2 (Vishal), Maari 2 (Dhanush), Singam 4 (Suriya), Sathurangavettai 2 (Arvind Swami), Kalakalappu 2 (director Sundar C), Thiruttu Payale 2 (director Susi Ganesan), Thamizh Padam 2 (Mirchi Siva), Kumki (director Prabhu Solomon) and Rajathanthiram 2.
Why the sudden craze?
When the likes of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan evince interest to do franchises, obviously it becomes a trend. “Sequels are considered a safe bet. It begins from where a successful movie ended. The major advantage of doing a sequel is that there is no need for introducing characters as they are familiar with the masses already,” Bharat adds.
Praveen, an aspiring filmmaker, says, “Action-packed movies are easy to have sequels. The likes of Singam, Billa or Saamy are hero-centric films. There were plenty of action laced with the story and there is emotional drama too. Hence, they manage to leave an impression.”
“Today, producers have to fight the piracy menace, lack of adequate screens and less patronage from audience due to rising theatre expenses. Hence, they need something that would instantly draw crowds to cinema halls. With the shelf life of a movie shrinking to just a weekend, they feel sequels as the best formula to achieve success,” says Janani, another tracker.
Success not guranteed
However, doing a sequel doesn't always assure success. After the good show of a few sequels, many made a beeline to the screens. But not all tasted success. They include part two of Darling, Pizza, Aranmanai, Pasanga, Amaidhi Padai, Jai Hind, Pulan Visaranai, Jithan and Ko. None of these films managed to break-even at the box office. When asked, industry watchers say, “Doing sequels are not as easy as many think. First, the product has to be more grand than its first part. There should be content that satisfies the audience. It has to surpass or at least match part one. Many filmmakers use it just a branding ploy. If they concentrate on the content, they could pull it off.”
The Baahubali and Kanchana franchises are classic examples. Their subsequent parts were entertaining and racy. They had a connect with the audience. Hence, these movies managed to draw good crowds, they add.
Kamal the trendsetter
Kamal Haasan was the one to introduce several firsts in Tamil cinema. The actual trend to do sequels was tested by him in 1985 with Japanil Kalyanaraman, which was the sequel to Kalyanaraman. Today, after almost 32 years, he is busy working on Indian 2 and Vishwaroopam 2. The announcement on Indian 2 was recently made during the grand finale of Bigg Boss, a television show hosted by him.
On doing Vishwaroopam 2, Kamal Haasan had said in an interview, “Generally, people wait for a year and then decide a film's sequel. But, I was sure from the beginning that I will bring the second part too. I had written the film in two parts and wanted to tell my audience the complete story. We decided to do in two parts so that individually, both the parts can work.”
Filmmakers take
Director Susi Ganesan, who is ready with Thiruttu Payale 2, says, “Even though the second part is releasing a decade later, there will be an underlying theme that will connect it with the first. Those who watched the first part and enjoyed it, will enjoy the second film equally because of the common theme.” The film stars Prasanna, Amala Paul and Bobby Simhaa in the lead.
Soon after completing 2.0, ace filmmaker Shankar will start working on Indian 2 with Kamal. He says, “I always wanted to do sequels after finishing every film. But, things didn’t fall in place. About three years ago, I got an idea for Indian 2 and at that time I got busy with my other projects. For the last two years, we had been working on the theme and I was determined to make that into a film. I thought it will be my next film after 2.0 and I am happy that Indian 2 is happening”.
Vishal starrer Sandakozhi (2005) was a huge hit. After 12 years, it gets a second part. It re-unites Vishal and director Lingusamy. “The sequel will be interesting and engaging,” says Lingusamy. “It will be grand and bigger than the first.”
Balaji Mohan, who is directing Maari 2 starring Dhanush, says, “I am a Dhanush fan. Maari, in a way, is exactly how I have always wanted to see Dhanush onscreen. Maari 2 will satisfy the appetite of his fans.”
Though a lot of movies have been witnessing second parts, ardent film lovers want sequels for a few more. Their list includes Baasha and Thalapathy (Rajinikanth), Nayakan (Kamal Haasan), Ghilli and Thuppaki (Vijay), Mankatha (Ajith) and Anniyan (Vikram) etc.
