EKAM, DWITHIYA, TRITIYA

Hollywood movies this summer have been bitten by the sequel bug. Within a short span of time four movies have come out with their third editions. Oceans 13, Pirates of Caribbean: At world's end, Spiderman-3 and Shrek the third are here. And within two months, another two more "part-3" movies, namely Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3 will hit the screens.

It is sure to bring back the producers their money for sure, and already some of these movies have crashed many records in terms of earnings.

I wonder why Bollywood and other Indian movies dont make sequels (just as yet). One popular experiment was with Dhoom, and a third edition is in the offing with Shah Rukh Khan being the thief. Lage Raho Munnabhai was a hit, but otherwise, there have not been much joy in making sequels. Mind you, when I say sequels it is NOT a remake of an earlier movie. That was seen with Mughal-e-Azam, Umrao Jaan, Don, Devdas and the soon to be released RamGopal Varma ki Sholay. Though loosely connected, Darna Zaroori Hai was a sequel to the earlier Darna Mana Hai. So was Krrish to Koi Mil Gaya. But on a firm scale, sequels haven't been embraced by other Indian movies. Long ago, a moderately hit tamil movie Krodham was released, which prompted Krodham-2 in 2000 but painfully bombed at the box office. Hyderabad Blues-2 was there, but still English movies dont qualify for mainstream Indian movies.

I would love to see sequels being made more in Indian movies- for example, just imagine what would be the response for a sequel of Baasha or Baazigar! Most sequels dont live up to its expectations largely built by the first one, (Phir Hera Pheri is a good example) and maybe thats why Indian filmmakers aren't quite ready yet to delve into making sequels.

But with recent successes of Dhoom-2 and Lage Raho Munnabhai, things could change.