While Hollywood is known to churn out a dozen movie franchises every year, Bollywood has also got on to the franchise bandwagon. The latest one being Remo D’Souza’s ABCD 2, and a third film is being worked on. Arbaaz Khan, too, has promised Dabangg 3 for Id 2017. Also, Ayan Mukerji is working on a superhero franchise with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt.
The difference between just a sequel and a franchise lies in the fact that in the franchise the movie becomes a brand and expectations run high. When Vijay Krishna Acharya, who has also directed Dhoom 3, was penning the script for Dhoom, he never thought it would be a franchise. Vijay says, “You can’t think of a franchise from day one. It starts with the audience accepting the idea. In Hollywood, there’s a strong fan base for comic book heroes, that’s not the case here. Box office success is pertinent but the story has to have a life beyond the two hours.”
Eros International is opening a franchise-making wing called Trinity Pictures. Its head Ajit Thakur believes that you need to invest into writing characters for a franchise. He says, “Characters become more important than the plot. You need to dig deeper into their larger-than-life personas. It’s easier to market a franchise film, which comes every 18 to 24 months, as there’s still an impact of the previous film. Franchises are not star-driven; they depend on the theme.”
The Bhatts have been at the forefront of movie franchises, the most popular ones being Murder and Raaz. Apparently, even a Murder 4 is in the works. So, when does it stop? Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt says, “Box office is important for a franchise. But, you stop when a film fails.” But, Vijay disagrees. “If you don’t enjoy the idea anymore, don’t push it. Your creativity should be the reason, not business.”
