Bollywood may not have initiated as of yet in the design of frequent sequel production, but Rakesh Roshan is certainly eager on re-squeezing the “good stuff” out of Koi Mil Gaya, through a possible continuation episode. How else does one explain the proliferation of the articles being published on Filmkraft’s next day-in day-out?
In the past Bollywood gave us a few follow-ups, titled -- Nigahen from Nagin, Hathyar from Vastaav, Hyderabad Blues 2 from Hyderabad Blues 1, and the like. The outcome, not so attractive. It is undeniably safe to state that since Bollywood is still somewhat untried in the field of sequels, we should not precalculate the situation and bash the industry from trying out the commonly-undertaken-by-Hollywood idea. However, before they articulate the same, one has to go back over and check on what original plot is being developed further.
Hollywood can take the risk of providing an additional chapter as odds are 50-50 that the film will be accepted by the audience, perceptibly subsequent to the critics’ verdict, due to their familiarity with the practice. It is quite clear that rarely does a Hollywood film get made just once. The real commerce of Hollywood lies in assembling a chapter 2 from the greatly sought-after chapter 1. Some well-known examples - The Godfather, Star Wars, and even Wayne's World – and realistically, the sequels have been as good as the firsts.
For Bollywood, however, the situation is not so simple. The Indian industry’s audience ranges from one end of the globe to the other end. Consequently, taste of the individual viewers will vary in accordance with location. The NRIs, the lion’s share of the overall audience, are quite recognizable with sequels from the west and are, realistically speaking not as enthusiastic about sequels produced by the back-home filmmakers. Reason: they, barring a small amount of commonsensical ones, are big on love-sagas, and love-sagas produced by Bollywood either have the archetypical boy gets girl happy-endings or the I die-you cry Devdas finale, both of which closes the plot permanently. Everything is basically resolved.
The local Indian audience, conversely, is divided into two sections: group A, who are the average filmgoers; taste is comparable to the NRI audience, but they want heavy-duty love-sagas or some mindless comical picture with escapist story lines, nice scenery and good music. Then we have group B, the advanced screener who demands for innovative ideas, strictly against replications or similarity of plots. Sequels have slight similarity in particulars; therefore, that goes out of the window.
Going back to the primary subject of this article, Filmkraft’s next. Yeah, so what exactly is it that the Roshans want to demonstrate in the continuation? Jadoo coming back to mother Earth? Or the widely acclaimed character of Rohit Mehra running after the blue guy and arriving at Jadoo-land? Sincerely speaking, both the ideas are evenly tasteless. In a famous example for comparing the state of affairs, Steven Spielberg’s E.T did not have a follow-up for the reason that the alien repetitively stated “E.T go home”, not “E.T stay here and party with you”, even supposing there was some shed of tears when he was eventually leaving. Additionally, the little human friend did not insist on joining E.T on the voyage back home as that would convert the sci-fi motion picture into some classic comedy flick inspired by cartoons.
As we have witnessed in the concluding frame of KMG, Jadoo heals Rohit Mehra’s mental state through sending him signals from the sky. As far as Jadoo’s association with Rohit is concerned, it is in secure terms and ought not to be over-simplified for the viewer. What other idea can function as a plot for the not so anticipated KMG “2”, Rohit heading out to thank Jadoo? This procedure would expand fantasy implementation to the extreme extent, as in the film we will be screening humans commuting to another planet and interacting with extra terrestrials, whereas in actuality personnel of NASA are still working day and night to gather the most diminutive proof supporting the existence of extraterrestrial entities. Again, if this idea is executed, it would transform one of the most successful films of Bollywood into some comical target.
To encapsulate, as a recommendation to the Roshans, do not try to inflate the success of KMG by producing a continuation of the highly praised script as chances are that the film will blow up at the BO. Present something new and make the ardent film-goers around the globe proud once again. Here’s wishing you good luck!