Successful Indian cinema sequels

FOR the longest time, Indian cinema didn’t do sequels very well or stayed away from them, but all that has now changed.

That is perfectly illustrated by this year’s most anticipated films Indian 2 (Tamil), Pushpa 2: The Rule (Telugu), L2: Empuraan (Malayalam), Stree 2 (Hindi) and Singham Again (Hindi) all being sequels.

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With that in mind, Eastern Eye compiled a list of 21 successful sequels across the years, listed in chronological order.

 Hunterwali Ki Beti (1943): Actress Fearless Nadia made a dynamite debut with explosive entertainer Hunterwali (1935). The all-action movie spawned a new genre in Bollywood and introduced real girl power into Hindi cinema for the first time. After a series of hit stunt movies, she reconnected with her career-defining role with this successful sequel, which saw the high-kicking actress return for another adventure.

Mr X In Bombay

Mr X In Bombay (1964): Ashok Kumar played the lead role in path-breaking 1957 film Mr X, which introduced science-fiction into commercial Hindi cinema with a story revolving around an invisible man. His younger brother Kishore Kumar portrayed the lead role in this spiritual sequel, which took the invisible man idea and put it into a romantic comedy setting. The unique film had winning songs like the popular Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi.

 Johar Mehmood in Hong Kong (1971): Top comedians IS Johar and Mehmood became so popular that their names were used in film titles. They teamed up for hit comedy Johar Mehmood in Goa (1965). There would be two follow-ups with Johar in Kashmir (1966) and Johar in Bombay (1967), but this Hong Kong inspired adventure is seen as the true sequel. They played two con men who get in over their heads in this cult classic.

Keemat

Keemat (1973): A remake of the Telugu film Gudachari 116 (1966), spy thriller Farz (1967) introduced a James Bond style character into Bollywood. Jeetendra portrayed Gopal Kishan Pandey/Agent 116 in the hit film, which spawned this sequel with a standalone story. Dharmendra took on the same character in the hit action-thriller about a secret agent on a deadly mission. There would later be less successful third instalment Raksha (1982), with Jeetendra taking on the same role again.

Wardat (1981): Mithun Chakraborty took on the James Bond style role of Gunmaster-G9 in spy thriller Surakksha (1979). He reprised the same role of India’s top secret agent going on a mission against evil forces in this sequel. Although it was unable to match up to the success of the first part, the movie became popular over time and turned his crimefighting agent into an iconic hero.

Chenkol (1993): The Malayalam language action drama carried on the story that had commenced with award-winning action-drama Kireedam (1989). Chenkol follows the lead protagonist, played by Mohanlal, emerging out of prison after a seven year sentence and seeing how the world has changed around him. The actor’s emotion-filled performance resonated with audiences in a film that skillfully took the narrative in a new direction.

Krrish (2006): Science fiction drama Koi Mil Gaya (2003) became the first Bollywood film to successfully introduce an alien into the storyline. With this equally path-breaking sequel producer/director Rakesh Roshan introduced the first great superhero of Hindi cinema. The same storyline carried on and saw Hrithik Roshan return as the heroic son of his character from the first film. The high-flying success spawned a third instalment with Krrish 3 and a fourth film is being planned.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai

Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006): With Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), Raj Kumar Hirani made a great directorial debut with a new kind of hero connected to kindness. The stunning sequel saw lead protagonists Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi return for a standalone story that cleverly incorporated the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi into contemporary society. Dutt was once again superb in the title role of a small time gangster, who has his outlook on life changed. The film was so great that a planned third instalment never happened because they couldn’t find a screenplay that was good enough.

 Dhoom 2 (2006): This sequel to the hit 2004 action movie Dhoom saw Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra return, to take on a brand new villain, played by Hrithik Roshan. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Bipasha Basu also joined the heist thriller. The stylish film with big stunts, eye-catching international locations, and cool costumes became a much bigger hit than the first part and spawned an even more successful third instalment Dhoom 3 (2013).

Don 2 – The King Is Back (2011): In 2006, producer/director Farhan Akhtar presented a remake of 1978 film Don with his action entertainer Don: The Chase Begins Again. Its twist ending enabled him to carry on the story five years layer with this hit sequel, which saw actor Shah Rukh Khan return as the title character and Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the agent in hot pursuit. It was announced a third instalment is on the way with Ranveer Singh taking over the title character.

 Kanchana (2011): The Tamil language spiritual sequel to Muni (2007) revolved around a man with a fear of ghosts, who gets possessed. The successful horror comedy was remade in several Indian languages and spawned two further sequels with Kanchana 2 (2015) and Kanchana 3 (2019), which were both commercial successes. Interestingly all four films have Raghava Lawrence playing different characters in standalone stories. The series helped popularise the comedy horror genre in India.

 Singham Returns (2014): Ajay Devgn returned to play the title character of a fearless super cop in this remake of 1993 Malayalam film Ekalavyan. The mass entertainer survived mixed reviews to clock up big box office numbers. The successful sequel also spawned a Bollywood cop universe with spinoff films Simmba (2018) and Sooryavanshi (2021), and 2024 web series Indian Police Force. The forthcoming third instalment Singham Again has assembled a huge star cast.

 Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015): A romantic comedy usually ends when a couple gets together and that is exactly what happened with hit film Tanu Weds Manu (2011). This hit sequel found a superb way of carrying the story of a mismatched couple forward by making their marriage miserable and introducing a lookalike. The laughter-filled comedy of errors featured a career best performance from Kangana Ranaut playing two different characters with effortless ease.

Baahubali 2

Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion (2017): In terms of box office numbers the record-breaking action drama is the most commercially successful sequel ever made in India. The Telugu epic, which was also dubbed in multiple languages, carried on the epic story of Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). The larger than life movie serving as a sequel and prequel struck a chord with audiences around the world and had a superstar making turn from lead actor Prabhas.

Dandupalya 2 (2017): The Kannada language crime drama Dandupalya (2012) was based on the exploits of a real life gang and this hit sequel carried on the story from where the first part left off. Interestingly, a lot of the third instalment, Dandupalya 3 (2018), were shot during production of this smash hit sequel. The stand-out cast in all the films was spearheaded by a stunning performance from Pooja Gandhi.

Tiger Zinda Hai (2017): Action entertainer Ek Tha Tiger (2012) spawned this massively successful sequel, with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif returning as the fearless secret agents battling another deadly enemy. The action thriller was such a big success that it triggered hit third instalment Tiger 3 (2023). It also inspired a spy universe with hit spin-off films War (2019) and Pathaan (2023). There are more spin-off movies on the way thanks to the success of this hit sequel.

Aadu 2

Aadu 2 (2017): The Malayalam language slapstick gangster comedy Aadu (2015) received mixed reviews and underperformed when it was released, so shooting a sequel didn’t make commercial sense. But the producers went ahead anyway and the result was a super hit sequel filled with entertaining moments. The lead protagonist is attempting to lead a normal life when he once again gets himself in a criminal conundrum. A third instalment is due to go into production soon.

 Carry on Jatta 2 (2018): Punjabi cinema has delivered multiple sequels, and this is the industry’s most successful franchise. This follow up to popular comedy Carry On Jatta (2012) was such a big success that it became the second highest grossing Punjabi movie of all time. The third instalment Carry On Jatta 3 (2023) became the biggest hit in Punjabi cinema history and the spin-off Carry On Jattiye is on the way. Lead star and producer Gippy Grewal has turned this franchise into a gamechanger.

Drishyam-2

 Drishyam 2 (2021): The most successful Indian film to be remade in different languages is hit 2013 Malayalam crime drama Drishyam. Mohanlal played the lead role in the story of a man trying to protect his family from a police investigation. This hit sequel successfully carried on the same story with the lead cast and added intriguing extra layers. The sequel has been successfully remade in different languages, including in Bollywood. Talks are underway for a third instalment.

KGF: Chapter 2

KGF: Chapter 2 (2022): The period action thriller KGF: Chapter 1 (2018) was a such big success that it became the highest grossing Kannada language film of all time. The sequel smashed all records and did four times the business, to become one of biggest movies in Indian cinema history. Yash reprised his role in the violent movie filled with eye-catching action scenes. A hotly anticipated third instalment is now being planned.

Gadar 2 (2023): Although Gadar (2001) smashed box office records when it released, not much was expected from the sequel, which carried on the cross-border story. The not so great action-drama survived scathing reviews to emerge as a blockbuster hit. Sunny Deol reprised his role of Tara Singh and once again went on a mission to fight Pakistani antagonists. Strong word of mouth from audiences in India carried the movie to big success and in the process resurrected Deol's career.