Mr India was a surprise Bollywood box-office blockbuster released 33 years ago. A much beloved film that was the [second] biggest hit of 1987, the genre bending sci-fi-superhero-dramedy-musical entertainer was a pastiche of everything cinematic and great that gelled together to perfection on screen. The movie hasn't dated a bit and is worth watching again and again. But is it worth remaking or re-creating with sequels - without the magical original cast?
Hmm.
A sequel to the film has been in discussion for the past 25 years (we traced back to the first article mentioned in Filmfare back in 1995) but nothing concrete has ever been finalised. We've reported on the sequel so many times over the past 20 years (since the inception of this Sridevi fan blog in fact) that we can barely feign interest now.
A few days ago however, noted writer / director Ali Abbas Zafar tweeted that a trilogy is being planned;
Excited to partner with
for an epic trilogy #MrIndia! It is a huge responsibility to carry forward an iconic character loved by everyone. Currently, working on the script, no actor has been locked till now. Once we lock the first draft of the script, casting begins!
for an epic trilogy #MrIndia! It is a huge responsibility to carry forward an iconic character loved by everyone. Currently, working on the script, no actor has been locked till now. Once we lock the first draft of the script, casting begins!
Zafar's career has seen tremendous highs (Tiger Zinda Hai, Sultan) to mediocre fare (Gunday).
Since the original release of the film, the octogenarian music director-duo Laxmikant* Pyarelal retired [*Laxmikant passed away in 1998], Amrish Puri died back in 2005, Sridevi suddenly passed away two years ago. Shekhar Kapur's career (as a film director) has been in stasis for years now [but he's been busy tweeting with alarming alacrity]. Boney Kapoor has been producing films on occasion but mostly busy raising his four children, Anil Kapoor has been defying the aging process with enviable ease.
When the discussion about a sequel came up at MAMI, it was met with tremendous applause and enthusiasm - but then, at the time, the principle cast was on stage looking like time stopped still just for them.
A natural, trigger response, an auto-pilot reaction to looking at the gorgeous leads in nostalgic sepia tones. Anil Kapoor donning his vintage jacket, Sridevi looking ever-youthful... it was all but pandering to the excited audience.
However, with some thought going into this... milking past ideas for formulaic box-office appeal is no guarantee for success. The major ingredients that made the film so great are no longer alive or associated with what's cooking by Zafar and Zee.
No one has even asked me or mentioned to me about this film called Mr India 2. I can only guess that they using the title to get a big weekend. For they cannot use the characters/story without permission from the original creators of the film.
It's startling how dead horses are being flogged again and again; when sequels or remakes of iconic films have been notable flops - eg Sholay, Umrao Jaan, Karz...etc So WHY touch classics? Is there such a paucity of ideas in Indian cinema today? Are the writers bereft of new thoughts? Are there no literary tomes worth re-imagining? Chapters in history that need to be brought to the arc lights?!
I'm sure the new team will hoist a polished product - technology is leaps and bounds ahead from what it was in the 1980s. However, the soul and spirit of the original will be sorely missing.
 |
| She was the one: Sridevi |
From a personal perspective - of this blog esp - with the kohinoor of Indian films missing in action, they are trying to pass off cubic zirconias for gen z viewers. And it's just not going to be the same.
Sure the idea of a re-make is making headlines today, but the original made history.
PS: An entire post on old Sridevi songs being remade with current gen and synthetic sounds is long over-due too. Its audible atrocity... but more on that at a later date.
Update: Sonam Kapoor and Anil Kapoor express their shock at learning about the news of Mr India sequels
UPDATE 2:
No comments:
Post a Comment