Opinion | A Lesson From Rajinikanth: Not Every Film Needs A Sequel

There were a lot of expectations from the recent Shankar directorial, Indian 2, starring Kamal Haasan. But sadly, box office numbers show that the film hasn't hit the mark with viewers. In four days, the movie, reportedly made on a budget of Rs 400 crore, has raked in just about Rs 114 crore worldwide and around Rs 62 crore in India. Critics and most of the audience criticised the film for its flimsy storyline and felt that the character of India thatha, a.k.a 'Senapathy' (Kamal Haasan), has lost his mojo. The film is a sequel to the 1996 superhit Indian. Many on social media raised a pertinent question - does it make sense to make a sequel to a film that was already a box office superhit?

Some Films Must Be Left Untouched

When Indian came to theatres in 1996, it was a never-seen-before vigilante extravaganza, with extensive use of make-up, prosthetics, visual effects, historical footage and traditional martial arts like the varma kalai. Underneath all this was a very strong storyline of an honest, ageing veteran who went to the extent of killing his own son to uphold his principles. Director Shankar's film marked a significant chapter in Indian film history and went on to become a blockbuster, earning over Rs 65 crore at the box office. In fact, it was one of the earliest pan-Indian films to come from South India.

In recent years, we have seen numerous sequels being made for blockbuster Tamil films. Take, for instance, the 2005 horror comedy, Chandramukhi, directed by P. Vasu and starring Rajinikanth and Jyothika, which was made on a budget of Rs 19 crore and earned around Rs 75 crore at the box office. In 2023, actor Raghava Lawrence starred in the sequel - once again directed by P. Vasu - along with Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut. The movie was made on a budget of Rs 60 crore. It made just about Rs 40 crore and was declared a flop.

Another heavily hyped film, Saamy Square, starring Vikram, was a sequel to the superhit 2003 film Saamy, directed by Hari. While Saamy was apparently made on a meagre budget of Rs 5 crore and made a whopping Rs 48 crore at the box office, Saamy Square, made on a reported budget of Rs 60 crore, managed to earn only Rs 47 crore. The sequel of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan also underperformed at the box office, but luckily, it was deemed an average film. While Ponniyin Selvan 1 clocked about Rs 450 crore, the sequel reportedly earned only Rs 205 crore worldwide.

Nothing Can Save A Bad Storyline

Now, what is common to all these sequels - and others - is the fact that the storyline was not as impressive or as sound as the first part. Moreover, a sequel needs to be a logical extension to the first chapter and it needs to take the story forward. Film trade analyst Ramesh Bala says, "One can't say all sequels fail, since KGF 2 and Baahubali 2 did brilliantly. However, when there is a large-scale extension to the film, story-wise, too, there needs to be an extension. Indian 2, firstly, was made 28 years after the first film, where we already saw the theme of corruption and Senapathy used varma kalai to take out the villains. There was nothing new in Indian 2 for the audience. You need to make a sequel within five years of the first film and it needs to continue the story to another level. You just can't cash in on the title alone - the audience needs a compelling reason to come and watch the film."

The bottom line is that if the story and writing are not captivating enough to engage the audience, then the sequel won't strike gold. Film critic Bharath Kumar reiterates that it's best not to mess with the original film if the director doesn't have a story that absolutely must be told. Citing Baahubali 2 and KGF 2 yet again, he says, "There was a huge curiosity factor after Baahubali 1 because everyone wanted to know why Kattappa killed Baahubali. In the case of KGF 2, the audience sees Rocky take over the gold mines and is waiting to see what he does next. One must remember that the audience will compare films, and so, the sequel must match up to - if not be better than - the first. If we look at Indian 1 and 2, corruption was the theme in both films. In 1996, corruption was a huge issue. But today, it's par for the course. Society has changed so much in 28 years. Another issue I find with some sequels is that directors want to make a pan-Indian film and try to make it like a buffet - have actors from various industries to raise appeal across regions. This fails miserably."

Learn From Rajinikanth

While the issue of sequels continues to be debated, in recent times, there have been rumours about some Tamil classics being remade, a possibility people are not very happy with. In March this year, for instance, there was talk that Kamal Haasan's cult film Sathyaa would be remade with Ashok Selvan; social media users opposed this idea.

One of the few Tamil stars who have had the most clarity when it comes to sequels is definitely Rajinikanth. In 2018, he featured in director Shankar's 2.0, a sequel to their hit 2010 film, Enthiran. The film reportedly managed to break even at the box office. Apparently, when Rajinikanth was asked about making a sequel to his superhit 1995 film, Baasha, he refused to touch the classic. Perhaps there's a lesson here. 

(The author is a senior entertainment journalist and film critic)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author