To be continued?

Internationally, they have been a summer rage for decades. Now sequels may finally be coming to Bollywood.

In producer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopra's editing studio, Rajkumar Hirani is busy with post-production work on his film Munnabhai 2nd Innings.

The film is slated for release in September 2006 and Hirani seems satisfied with the way it has taken shape. While his previous film Munnabhai MBBS was a big hit, will Hirani manage to recreate the magic with its sequel?

"I don't think my film is a sequel. It is a 'sequence' where the same characters tackle a completely different episode," offers Hirani. He explains the move to make Munnabhai 2nd Innings: "It is a bit like James Bond films where the central characters remain the same but films are based on different episodes."

Hirani may call his film a "sequence" but for audiences who loved Munnabhai and Circuit (played by Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi respectively), Munnabhai 2nd Innings will be an attempt to find out what happens next to the popular on-screen characters.

"I knew I wanted to work on another light-hearted film after Munna-bhai MBBS. I was struggling with the script and once I merged the story with the characters of Munnabhai and Circuit, everything fell into place."

Hirani feels the film's characters are already popular with audiences and is confident that they will establish a connection once again.

A lot of film directors who have delivered some recent hits are thinking like Hirani and offering a spate of sequels to audiences in the second quarter of 2006.

The most talked about sequels, besides Hirani's new movie, are Phir Hera Pheri, a continuation of Priyadarshan's hit film Hera Pheri, Dhoom II, a follow-up to the superhit film Dhoom, and Krrish, a sequel to Rakesh Roshan's mega blockbuster Koi Mil Gaya.

Other sequels in the pipeline include Janeman from David Dhawan who hopes to replicate the success of Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, and producer Ektaa Kapoor's sequel to her previous box-office hit Kyaa Kool Hai Hum.

Mahesh Ramanathan, COO, Percept Picture Company (PPC), who is releasing director Madhur Bhandarkar's much-awaited film Corporate, confirms, "Madhur is busy with his next film Signal starring Kunal Khemu and Konkona Sen but he will definitely be looking at a sequel to Chandni Bar in the near future."

What's luring producers and filmmakers into presenting Act II of their previous hit films, especially as sequels haven't found success in the Indian film industry? (Think Sridevi's hit film Nagin followed by the dud Nigahein).

Director Deepak Tijori, who recently made the comic caper Tom, Dick and Harry, laughs at director Mahesh Manjrekar's attempt at a sequel that bit the dust.

"Vaastav was such a brilliantly executed film. When Mahesh approached me for its sequel Hatyar, I wasn't too sure of how my role would be etched," he rues. "Somewhere I feel it was simply a quick move to encash on the success of Vaastav."

And what happened to Tijori's plans of making a sequel to his own film Tom, Dick and Harry? "I was initially thinking of it but right now I have my hands full with an action film and a light-hearted thriller," he says. Tijori feels sequels may or may not work in India.

"Continuity is easier to achieve in the fantasy and supernatural genres because one can play around a lot with characters. It becomes tough to sustain sequels in other genres," he says.

Hirani, however, feels that "sequels of films like Godfather and Jaws don't belong to the supernatural genre but have still been successful".

Tijori is confident of Krrish's success in India. "It is a story of a simple village boy who has supernatural powers, and I'm sure audiences will lap it up," he says.

Navin Shah, CEO, P9 Integrated, which is currently doing branded entertainment marketing of Krrish, backs Tijori's statement. "Krrish is a milestone in Indian cinema after Sholay and it is a sequel that has been made after strenuous effort," he says.

Shah is confident of Krrish's success and says, "The sequel will click because every effort has been made to hire the best crew from Hollywood."

Made on a budget of Rs 50 crore, P9 Integrated is all set to introduce over 50 different products including Krrish dolls, apparel and stationary products. Shah defines the trend of sequels in India as "a residual brand equity move from producers and film directors".

He explains, "Sequels are attempted only when a particular film is a hit. No film director will make films keeping sequels in mind." And why have sequels in India backfired till now? Shah explains, "Films should ultimately have a soul. Most films attempted in the past as sequels have failed because filmmakers have only treated films as a marketing move.

Krrish," he promises, "will change that perception and prompt other filmmakers to scale the budgets of their films."

Shah may have a point. Sources say that director Aditya Chopra, who is working round-the-clock on Dhoom's sequel, saw the rushes of Krrish and hired the services of an action director from Hollywood in a bid to ensure that the action sequences of his film are able to match up. Interestingly, PPC is now working on a sequel of its hit animation film Hanuman that will be released in October 2007.

"We haven't decided on the name of the film but yes, we are working on the second part of Hanuman," confirms Ramanathan. "Kids especially loved baby Hanuman and our next story will revolve around baby Hanuman trying to tackle problems in the modern world," he says.

With Hanuman II, the company will also speed up its advertising and marketing strategies and introduce mobile games for children under a Hanuman series as well. "We can't tamper with mythology and it was best to treat the story of Hanuman in a completely new avataar," he adds.

Not everyone is convinced that sequels in India will be as successful as the original version. Priyadarshan refused to do a sequel of his hit film Hera Pheri (the sequel is being made by Nadiadwala Productions).

"The film had a perfect ending and I don't think there can be a sequel to that." A filmmaker jokes, "Priyadarshan has never made original films and a sequel invariably needs to be original."

Tijori quips, "Film directors Abbas Mustan met me the other day and asked me to lose weight as they're planning a sequel to Khiladi, a film in which I starred along with Akshay (Kumar) and Ayesha Jhulka."

Clearly, this may not be the last season of sequels in the Hindi film industry.