The trump cards!
That’s what filmmaker Luv Ranjan thinks of sequels adding they are also like safety nets
Filmmaker Luv Ranjan, whose Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety has done brisk business at the box office, says he won't venture into a sequel unless he is sure of making it better. He believes the concept of sequels is like a safety net.
Comfort zone
At a success party for Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Ranjan was asked if he would like to make a sequel for it like he made for Pyaar Ka Punchnama. He said, “I think a sequel is like a safety net or a trump card. In life, not everything goes right... You make films, some go right, and some go wrong. So, sequels give you that cushion to go back to your comfort space and become viable again. My whole logic is that I don't want to do a sequel till I am very sure of the fact that I will be able to surpass the first one. If you can’t surpass the first one, then let it be. If you make a sequel of a film without much consideration and if it fails, then it also harms the reputation of the original one.”
He cited the example of the Golmaal franchise. “The film came after seven years of the original, and there was a gap of four years in between Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, so I really think that between any sequels there should be gap of at least three years. If we keep on making parts of a franchise, then it is like eating sweets repeatedly, and excess of anything is not good. So, it shouldn't happen.” Ranjan also said sequels cannot be thought of beforehand. “You can’t make a film thinking of a sequel in mind. What always happens is you do a film and later you explore that possibility. So now everyone after watching the film is saying there could be a sequel to it, and I think there can be a sequel, but it’s not something that you decide beforehand. When I pitched this film to Bhushan Kumar (producer), I told him that there is a possibility of making sequel of this film. But as a film, it needs to be complete on its own. I feel a filmmaker should make the sequel of particular film when audience demands it.”
Asked whether he thinks about the business aspect of a film while making it, he said, “Honestly, what happens today is, collecting Rs 100 crore is nothing today. It's a matter of perspective. There are films which have collected Rs 400 crore also.
It’s always with respect to what is the size of your film. “If you make a film in Rs 5 crore and even if it does Rs 25 crore, then it’s a bigger success than a Rs 100 crore film generating Rs 150 crore. So, that is the whole point. Numbers in that sense do not matter. What matters is there is great return on investment which is in this film’s case (Sonu Ke...) is like more than 100 per cent, which is a great thing. So, whether now it does Rs 90 crore or Rs 110 crore, it doesn't matter much.”