Indian cinema is currently going through a never before seen Sequel Culture – the idea to narrate a story in different parts. Leaving aside a few exceptions, most of these attempts appear to be aimed at cashing in on the curiosity of the moviegoers rather than bringing up a honest follow-up for the previous parts.
In the last few years, almost all film industries have adopted the sequel tradition because of the growing fascination. But, Telugu legendary auteur Singeetam Srinivas seems to be against this trend as he rejected the very idea long back. This is now revealed by Kalki director Nag Ashwin
In a recent interview, Nag Ashwin recalled an interesting interaction Singeetam Srinivasa Rao when the former requested the latter to pitch a script for a sequel to the 1991 sci-fi classic, Aditya 369. Ashwin offered to help produce and co-direct, using modern technology to scale up the vision.
Surprisingly, the veteran director categorically turned the idea down, saying the original story was complete and it was time to make a completely different movie instead. It seems like this is why Balakrishna’s ambitious project Aditya 999 also didn’t take off even till today despite making news several years back.
This interesting exchange by Nag Ashwin highlights a major issue in current cinema, which is the obsession of our modern day filmmakers with sequels. Today, directors and producers rush to turn every hit into a franchise, even when the story has no natural scope for a second part. Instead of being driven by narrative necessity, these sequels are born out desire to cash in on the craze for movies.
While films like Baahubali, Pushpa and Dhurandhar managed to convince audiences with their second parts, many sequel films failed to make an intact and ended as loss ventures. Some projects did not even materialize due to lack of proper scripts.
Unfortunately, the plans for unwanted sequels are actively killing the buzz of the original films. A classic movie works because its story feels finished and its characters have evolved. Forcing a second part onto a complete narrative requires making up artificial conflicts. This dilutes the magic of what made the first film special in the first place.
Of late, this trend has worsened, with films released ten or twenty years ago suddenly being dragged back for unnecessary adaptations as sequels. While visual effects have improved over the decades, technology cannot replace a fresh idea. So, it would be ideal to work on a new story rather than struggling to develop a convincing sequel script.
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s strict philosophy is exactly what modern cinema is missing. Instead of relying on a past success, the 94-year-old director chose to move forward and create Sing Geetham, a new musical fantasy which is gearing up for release on June 11.
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