Mumbai, Nov 3: After the critically-acclaimed war drama “Ikkis”, filmmaker Sriram Raghavan is keen to return to the world of caper dramas and revisit the story of his 2007 hit “Johnny Gaddar” for a possible sequel.
He would also love to make sequels of “Badlapur” and “Andhadhun”, which released in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
“I’m actually keen on doing ‘Johnny Gaddar 2’. It will be 20 years of ‘Johnny Gaddar’ next year. We are going to give it a small release in four cities and a few screens. I would love to do a film like that, which is a caper kind of a film,” Raghavan told PTI in an interview.
“Finally, it is the story. If I do not get that, then I can take the signing amount and run. That is a different thing,” he joked.
Raghavan’s 2007 film “Johnny Gaddar”, a neo-noir crime thriller about greed and betrayal, has developed a cult fan following over the years. It was Neil Nitin Mukesh’s debut film and featured Dharmendra, Vinay Pathak, Rimi Sen and others.
Raghavan later cast Dharmendra in “Ikkis”, which ended up being the actor’s final screen outing. Dharmendra died in November last year.
The director is open to the idea of making sequels to both “Badlapur” and “Andhadun”, but said that will happen only if he gets a good idea.
“It is not about (these films being a) safe space. It is finally getting a good story. I will happily do ‘Badlaput 2’, if I get the right story. Otherwise, you end up s****ing up the first film, which is not worth it. Likewise, there is ‘Andhadhun 2’ and everybody has been asking me to make it,” he added.
Raghavan, whose filmography also boasts of thrillers such as “Ek Hasina Thi” and “Merry Christmas”, said he is aware of the commercial advantage of sequels but believes that should not be the sole reason to make a film.
“Today, (it) is the time of sequels. It becomes easier to sell a film because of sequels and people come to the hall, they are interested. So, all those advantages are there. But if we just give the title to make a film for the sake of it, it is not good.”
The filmmaker said that any future sequels to his acclaimed hit films would most likely be “spiritual sequels”.
“I will make one or two of these sequels for sure. But they will be different stories and they will not be the continuation of the same story,” he said.
Asked whether the sequels would feature the original cast or introduce new actors, Raghavan said the casting would depend on the story.
“There will be new people because in many of my films, the cast is dead. So, when the story is over, the actors, the characters are dead,” he said.
Raghavan was speaking on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Jagran film festival, where “Ikkis”, a biopic on Arun Khetarpal, the youngest recipient of the Param Vir Chakra award, was screened.
Khetarpal was killed in action in the Battle of Basantar during the 1971 India–Pakistan War. The film’s title is a reference to Khetarpal’s age when he died. (PTI)
