T-Series, Anurag Basu announce new film ‘Metro: In Dino’

NEW DELHI: Bhushan Kumar-owned T-Series and director Anurag Basu have announced a new film called Metro: In Dino. The anthology is a spin-off on Basu’s 2007 hit Life…in a Metro. The new film stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Pankaj Tripathi, Neena Gupta, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh.

Bollywood has been betting big on sequels and franchise films in the past few months to cash in on the success of titles such as Bhool Bhulaiya, Heropanti and Ek Villain, among others.

Kartik Aaryan was seen in horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiya 2 this May, while the sequels to period drama KGF and Tiger Shroff’s Heropanti arrived in April and May respectively. Ekta Kapoor also built on her Ek Villain series with an instalment in July, while Zee Studios is planning a sequel to Gadar with Sunny Deol.

The formula may generate some curiosity given the success of previous films but the poor response to recent titles such as Bunty Aur Babli 2 suggest forcing a story forward may not work, according to critics and trade experts. The other challenge is that Hindi cinema does not have the grandeur and special effects of Hollywood superhero franchises, which such sequels are inspired by.

“Sequels are actually made for two core reasons. One is creative and the other is business-led. If audiences have loved a particular story, extending its storyline in a recognizable yet unique manner is a great business opportunity. The sequel will always feed off the appeal of its predecessor,” Shariq Patel, former chief business officer, Zee Studios had said in an earlier interview to Mint.

However, a spiritual successor, or a film with a completely different plot or a set of actors and only belonging to the same genre as the original, has been tough to sell and disappointing to audiences in the past few years, said experts.