It has been a very mediocre year for Tamil cinema and the industry has been grappling with a lack of major hits. In a surprising turn of events, Sundar C’s Aranmanai 4 — the fourth film in the done-to-death horror franchise — has ended the industry’s dry spell as it became the first ₹ 100-crore grosser of the year. Despite being panned heavily by critics, the film managed to revive Tamil cinema in a big way with its success.
The success of Aranmanai 4, as per trade sources, has once again reinstated the ever popularity of franchise-based films. In the next few months, the southern film industry is gearing up to welcome close to half a dozen sequels and the anticipation around their release has already reached new levels. While Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2 and 3, Allu Arjun’s highly-anticipated Pushpa 2 and Puri Jagannadh’s Double iSmart have already firmed up their release dates, there are big-budget projects like Devara, Jailer, Salaar and Kalki 2898 AD that have already announced their second parts.
A RECENT PHENOMENON
Distributor Janardhan points out that sequels have been a recent phenomenon in South Indian cinema. “Apart from franchise films like Aranmanai, Kanchana and the Drishyam series, southern cinema was never much into making sequels, say, as much as Bollywood. It was only after the gargantuan success of the Bahubali films and its pan-Indian reach and popularity that southern filmmakers have been bitten by the sequel’s idea bug.”
He also added that in the case of films like Pushpa, Devara and Kalki 2898 AD, the idea to make sequels was born towards the end of the filming of the first part. “It so happened that in most cases, filmmakers realise that there’s a lot of scope for the story to be extended into two or more parts. Pushpa was never planned as a two-part film but as they finished the first part and saw the rushes, they felt that the character and the story had the scope to be extended. The same logic applies to Devara and Kalki 2898 AD as well,” he added.
The first part of Kalki 2898 AD releases on June 27
BETTING BIG ON SEQUELS
Filmmaker S. Shankar’s highly anticipated sequel to his evergreen blockbuster Indian will unarguably be one of the biggest releases of the year. The project, which marks Shankar’s reunion with Kamal Haasan after two decades, has been on the floors for quite some time. When the makers announced the film would be released in two parts, it came as the biggest shock to the industry as nobody in their wildest dreams thought there could be another part in the Indian franchise.
In a media interaction recently, Kamal Haasan opened up about the idea of making Indian 2 and 3 simultaneously. “I was really impressed with Shankar’s idea of another part. He also had the script ready. That’s when we decided to shoot both the films together in an attempt to save time and budget.”
He went on to confirm that Indian 3 will release six months after Indian 2, which is gearing up for a July release. Tamil cinema has bet big on Indian 2, which will be the first major release since January this year. Trade pundits believe this could be Kamal Haasan’s maiden ₹ 1,000-crore grosser as it’s riding on extremely positive word-of-mouth so far.
Kamal Haasan in Indian 2, out in July
Reacting to the sequel trend, trade analyst Trinath said that most big-budget films are going the sequel way purely from a commercial sense. “Quite a few big films are lately being divided into two parts because it allows the filmmakers to narrate the story on a bigger canvas. Thanks to the phenomenal success of Pushpa: The Rise, the expectation around Pushpa: The Rule is beyond anyone’s imagination. The industry is very hopeful of Pushpa 2 easily breaching the ₹ 1,000-crore club.”
ENTICING THE AUDIENCE WITH EMOTION AND EDGE
Trinath feels a lot of planning goes into films that are planned as sequels. “It is very important to understand that the buzz and anticipation around a sequel is what makes it an enticing project. Imagine the nationwide shock the ending of Bahubali: The Beginning created when Kattappa kills Bahubali. It is the writing, the cliffhanger ending that created all the hype for the second part. Naturally, audiences were motivated to come and watch the second part to find out more about the story.”
Filmmaker Sundar C, who is basking in the success of Aranmanai 4, feels the story should always be given prime importance when it comes to films that are being planned to be made into parts. “When you look at the Aranmanai franchise, each part had a very strong emotional core that resonated strongly with the audiences. As much as it is just another horror film with some familiar tropes, what really has been driving the franchise is the emotions. That’s what I focused on in Aranmanai 4. It is a story of a mother who turns into a ghost and the lengths she goes to protect her kids. If the mother’s sentiment/emotion didn’t click with the audiences, the film wouldn’t have worked.”
Another aspect, as per Janardhan, to note is that films that are being made in parts can really benefit from a major casting coup. “Look at the cast of Kalki 2898 AD. Apart from Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, it also features Dulquer Salmaan and Vijay Deverakonda among others in special cameos. Kamal Haasan will be seen just for 15 minutes in the first part but has a 90-minute appearance in the second part. What this means is his fans would be even more eager to watch the second part. That’s a smart move to retain your core audience and ensure they come back for the second part.”
Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai — Part 2 is another highly-anticipated sequel that’s been in the making for a while. If everything goes as planned, the film will release in the second half of the year. Vetrimaaran also has his long-delayed Vada Chennai 2 in the pipeline.
“Initially, Viduthalai was planned as a small film with a different cast. When Vijay Sethupathi came on board and given his market, I saw the scope to expand the canvas of the story. That’s how we decided to make the film into two parts,” Vetrimaaran said.
Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai Part 1, his most hard-hitting film since Visaranai, isn’t just another film on police brutality but one that exposes the inefficiency of a system which continues to prey upon the weak. The film, which is definitely not for the faint-hearted, is an elaborate, detailed exploration of abuse of power and it dives deep into the psyche of a man, an honest police constable, who is torn between his job and seeking the truth. The first part, despite delayed release, was a box-office success.
Vada Chennai 2 was supposed to go on the floors nearly two years ago. Vetrimaaran had once said that the sequel could be made as a film or as a web series for an OTT platform. “I have a couple of ideas. Of course, one is a film sequel idea but I also got a few offers to turn the sequel into a web series which means I can explore the story and the characters even more,” he had said.