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To be continued

Should sequels to hits be made or not? Are they filthy lucre or creative consideration?

PHOTO: AFP

PART TWO US actress Sharon Stone poses during the world premiere of the movie `Basic Instinct 2' directed by Michael Caton-Jones in Paris

It is a basic instinct for studios to commission sequels. A concept makes mega bucks, and that is the signal to spawn another and another and... well you get the picture. So, you have Rocky overcoming many odds, regimes, the Russians, the Martians (just kidding!) ad nauseam, reminding one of the MAD satire called Rocky XX or something like that with an octogenarian Rocky continuing to fight.

In March of 1992, the world opened its eyes to Paul Verhoeven's Basic Instinct. Apart from the fact that writer Joe Eszterhas was paid a then-unheard-of $3 million dollars for the script and gays and lesbians were furious with how they had been represented, there was the famous interrogation scene were Sharon Stone as prime suspect Catherine Tramell treats her interrogators and underwear with equal contempt.

Now comes Basic Instinct 2 Risk Addiction in which the 48-year-old Stone reprises her role as Tramell. Verhoeven and Michael Douglas have since moved on — Verhoeven has returned to his Dutch roots while Douglas is rediscovering the joys of monogamy and fatherhood. The sequel seems to traverse the same paths with minor alterations like London for San Francisco, a detective from the Yard for boozy cokehead Nick Curran and a race car driver in place of the rock star. But Tramell remains suspect No 1. The well-oiled publicity machine has Stone saying she is disappointed the more risqué elements have been chopped off — setting the course for the director's cut DVD.

"What is she going to do that she has not done earlier?" wonders Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, director of Rang De Basanti. "I am having major flashbacks," says Samit Basu, who wrote Simoquin Prophesies and the sequel The Manticore's Secret.

Fuelled by story

Rakeysh feels the need for a sequel is fuelled by the story. "Take a story like the Mahabharat. It would be difficult to contain the story in a two-hour film. Folklore is another example of sequel-worthy material. The sequels that have worked, and by worked I mean made sense, like the Lord Of The Rings movies and Harry Potter or caper films like Ocean's Eleven, have worked because of the story."

"The story should be going somewhere," says Samit. "Look at the Matrix movies. The first film was complete in itself. The second was bad and the third was awful. That is because it was just more of the same stuff. A sequel should take the story to a certain point. You cannot have sequels like Disney's Lion King 2 or Jungle Book 2 just to sell toys!"

Jeewan Joshi of PVR cinema, Bangalore, says: "Sequels ride on the hype of the earlier films. As far as trilogies go, I have noticed that the final part does better than the second like Matrix Revolutions did better than Reloaded and Revenge Of The Sith did better than Attack Of The Clones." The audience must have been heaving a sigh of relief that they would not have to suffer an expressionless Keanu Reeves or a sulky Hayden Christensen ever again.

Abhishek of Rex cinema, Bangalore, says: "Though sequels do not work, Transporter 2 did four times the business the original did. A film like the recent Big Momma's House 2 did not do well. Basic Instinct 2 is the most eagerly awaited sequel. When Basic Instinct came out, it ran in Symphony (Bangalore) for 14 weeks! And it has always done well on re-release."

"A majority of sequels do not live up to the promise," says M. Bhaktavatsala, former president, Film Federation of India. "Because sequels are made for purely commercial considerations. The exception is Godfather 2, which was a critical and commercial success. Lord Of The Rings and the Harry Potter films cannot be termed sequels as they are parts of a single work." Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol 1 and Vol II would fall in the same category.

"Sequels answer a need in all of us to know what happens next," says Samit. "We do not want to let go. I wrote Manticore as I had so much fun with Simoquin. I think a sequel that works should have a good balance of all that worked in the original with sufficient new things to keep the interest." Rakeysh feels: "Terminator 2 is a classic. The villain of the first movie, the Terminator, becomes the hero. The concept is turned on its head." Samit's favourite sequel is Spiderman 2. "It has got Doc Ock in it."

The sequel scene in India is not very hot — one cannot conceive of a sequel to Sholay. "That is because the film is complete in itself," comments Rakeysh. "If someone were to come up with a mind-blowing script, I do not see why there cannot be a Sholay-II!"

Krrish, the sequel to the hugely popular Hrithik Roshan-starrer Koi Mil Gaya, and the sequel to biker movie Dhoom, Dhoom 2 are eagerly awaited sequels. And now there is news of a sequel to the popular animated feature Hanuman. "I don't know why Indian audience are made out to be a different type of entity," says Rakeysh. "We also have two eyes, ears, legs and hands. If sequels have never been made in India, it does not mean they should never be made! I would make a sequel if the story demanded it."

And so the sequel debate rages — should they be made or not? Is it filthy lucre or creative consideration?

MINI ANTHIKAD-CHIBBER

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