From Bad Newz to Dhadak 2: How Bollywood is redefining sequels with spiritual successors

With a host of ‘spiritual sequels’ being made currently, we talk to makers and experts to decode the new trend.

The trend of spiritual sequels is gaining momentum in the Hindi film industry. This approach often involves creating a film that shares thematic or stylistic elements with its predecessor but does not necessarily continue the same storyline or characters.

Posters of Good Newwz and Bad Newwz.

In recent years, the trend of spiritual sequels has become prominent, with filmmakers choosing to revisit successful formulas from previous hits while offering fresh narratives. For example, Bad Newz featured a plot unrelated to its predecessor, Good Newz, but employed a similar thread—a medical mix-up—to create a marketable connection.

Upcoming projects such as Dhadak 2 and Tere Ishk Mein exemplify this trend. Dhadak 2 is expected to tell a new story of star-crossed lovers, echoing the romantic themes of the original Dhadak, which addressed honor killings. Similarly, Tere Ishk Mein, starring Dhanush and directed by Aanand L Rai, is anticipated to be a spiritual successor to Rai’s 2013 film Raanjhanaa, which featured Dhanush as a man obsessed with a woman. Metro In Dino, directed by Anurag Basu, also fits into this category, as does Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par.

It's essential to distinguish between a traditional sequel and a spiritual sequel. As Aanand L Rai explains, “A sequel like Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba is an extended story of those characters, whereas in the Shubh Mangal... case, we were trying to tell stories which are an extension of the thought. Zyaada Saavdhan was an ideology, but in a sequel you have a story.”

Filmmaker Onir, who is working on We Are, a spiritual successor to I Am, clarifies, "We Are will be a tribute to the Supreme Court verdict on legalising queer sex, unfortunately not everything though. These will be stories that celebrate identity. Spiritual sequels are connected by a single thread to the original films, like here for example, both I Am and We Are are bound by the concept of freedom, but very different in terms of stories and characters, it's not picking up from where my earlier film left off."

Speaking about the role strategic marketing plays in making spiritual sequels a success, the title alone can make a substantial difference. For instance, Bad Newz was initially titled Mere Mehboob Mere Sanam, based on a yesteryear chartbuster hit which was also rehashed for the 2024 film. Later, it was named Bad Newz, a masterstroke that helped leverage the brand value of the original film, Good Newz, for promotional purposes.

Producer Ramesh Taurani, who applied a similar strategy with Ishk Vishk Rebound, states, "Spiritual sequels mean a new story. I had one for youngsters, which was not a continuation of the old story in the original. But I felt it would be better to say that in today's time this is how it would be. Also, we didn't say 'Ishk Vishk 2'. The story demanded such a title. And of course, there's a brand value of the original film which connects to the new one. It was already well received and appreciated, it helps in promoting the spiritual successor."

Marketing expert Varun Gupta, owner of Max Marketing, further elaborates, "Marketing a film as a spiritual sequel helps because there is a certain sense of promise—of the genre and the brand—guaranteed. You are already telling consumers ‘this will make you feel what the previous film did.’ If you are creating an absolutely new brand out of it, it will take time. People don’t know what to expect, and will take your teaser and trailer on face value."

While spiritual sequels offer a creative way to revisit successful concepts and connect with audiences through familiar themes, they also come with the challenge of meeting or exceeding the expectations set by their predecessors.

Gupta provides an example, "If I am marketing a film with Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi, I will have to start from scratch to tell you what it’s about. The moment I say ‘Munnabhai,’ there are a lot of things I don’t even have to say. The biggest disadvantage with spiritual sequels is that if not better, they at least need to be at par with expectations." "Sometimes, just to encash on the original film's success, makers end up branding films as that. If it is not up to the mark as the original, it will fall flat. It then might leave one with a question, would it have worked as an individual film without any expectations?" he ends.