Bollywood has an obsession. Say the word sequel, remix, franchise or any other equivalent word and watch Bollywood producers start salivating at the mouth, and their eyes probably turn into the rupee symbol.
Okay, maybe that is a bit mean and harsh, and not even entirely true, because original stories are being made. However, it feels as if at some point, Hindi cinema quietly began treating endings as optional. Now, “The End” at the end of the movie doesn’t mean squat.
Because you can bet that if not in 2 or 3 years, then 10 or even 20 years later, the makers, in a bid to make some profits and earn money, will bring back whatever film they feel like just to cash in on the nostalgia factor of it, even if the movie itself didn’t really even need a sequel or any continuation at all.
The latest example being Awarapan 2, whose teaser was dropped exactly nineteen years since Awarapan first released in Indian cinemas. In it, Emraan Hashmi returns as Shivam Pandit, a gangster-romantic, which in turn is very confusing. Because remember, in Mohit Suri’s 2007 film, Shivam does not survive, dying in a gunfight at the shipping docks.
The film ends with him reuniting with his love in heaven.
Now, the filmmakers coming out with a sequel to this movie wouldn’t have been this alarming if this wasn’t just another one in a long list of sequels, franchise parts and more that we have gotten in just the past 2-3 years.
In very recent times, we have seen franchise extensions like Gadar 2, Border 2, and the continuing expansion of long-running comedy series such as Dhamaal and Welcome. Then we have movies like Cocktail 2, Drishyam 3, Raid 2, Singham 4, Bhool Bhulaiya 3, and so many more.
The pattern is hard to miss. Increasingly, Hindi cinema does not just release films; it builds franchises around them. Then, we have the music industry, which, if it is not remixing songs, then it is bringing back old songs without really seeming to put effort into making quality music in present.
So the question begs to be asked: is Bollywood really out of originality?
When Did Every Film Become A Potential Franchise?
Right now, it feels as if every film is being made with the very thought of it turning into a franchise or multiverse of some kind.
The list of sequels and franchise entries either already released or imminent this year includes: Pati Patni Aur Woh Do, Cocktail 2, Welcome to the Jungle (Welcome 3), Dhamaal 4, Bhediya 2, Drishyam 3, Awarapan 2. Then we have Singham Again (2024), and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (2024), Metro In Dino, a spiritual sequel to the 2007 film Life in a… Metro, directed by Anurag Basu, Raid 2, Housefull 5 (2025), Son of Sardaar 2 (2025), De De Pyaar De 2 (2025), Jolly LLB 3 (2025), and War 2 (2025).
A Bollywood Hungama analysis from April 2026 concluded: “Bollywood’s current pipeline looks less like a creative marketplace and more like an IP stock exchange, where the safest bet is not the best story but the most familiar title.”
According to the report, a trade analyst said, “Everyone says they want original content. Then the first question in the room is, ‘Is there a franchise hook?’ That tells you everything.” While another trade insider explained the popularity of this phenomenon, saying, “A sequel can survive a weaker trailer because memory does half the marketing. An original film has to be sold like a new religion in 30 seconds.”
As per another insider, “Bollywood isn’t addicted to sequels because sequels always work. Bollywood is addicted to sequels because they reduce fear inside boardrooms.”
BollywoodMDB noted that 2026 was expected to be “the year of Bollywood franchises,” with franchise titles dominating every major holiday weekend on the release calendar, Republic Day, Eid, Independence Day, and Diwali, essentially leaving no premium release window available for an original film.
This is not a passing phase. According to a report by Peeping Moon published in September 2025, sequels dominated the 2024 box office so thoroughly that “these four sequels together accounted for more than 50% of the total Hindi box office earnings” that year, creating what the report described as “a pervasive herd mentality among Bollywood producers, convincing them that sequels and franchise films were the safest bets to lure audiences into cinemas.”
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When Sequels Fail: 2025’s Warning That Nobody Listened To
Here is what makes the current sequel stampede all the more confusing: the year immediately preceding this one offered a very clear warning about where blind franchise faith leads.
The Peeping Moon analysis from September 2025 found that with the exception of Raid 2, “every other sequel released so far this year has stumbled or collapsed at the ticket windows.”
The biggest casualty was War 2, described as “a sure-shot blockbuster on paper”: Hrithik Roshan, Jr. NTR, a massive YRF spy universe, a budget of approximately ₹350 crore, that “flopped disastrously.” According to the report, “audiences just didn’t connect with the story, found grandiose action sequences hollow and unsubstantial, and heavily criticized the entire template of the film, which felt like a tired rehash of previous YRF spy offerings.”
Girish Johar himself had acknowledged this tension in the ETV Bharat interview: “Audience anywhere in the world is clear that you can’t take us for granted. If you want to take the franchise ahead then give us proper stories.”
And yet, 2026 arrived with an even heavier sequel calendar. The warning was apparently filed and forgotten.
Trade analyst Girish Wankhede, speaking to ETV Bharat, offered the industry’s counter-argument: “It’s essentially a three-day business and when your Friday-Saturday-Sunday are safe because of your great franchise value, that is what the filmmakers are inclined to go for.”
This is not to say that original movies are not being made, or not earning money. Movies like Jawan, Kill, Saiyaara all earned a very impressive box-office collection. Jawan was the highest-grossing film of 2023, earning an impressive Rs. 1,100+ crore, while Saiyaara sat in third place for 2025, earning over Rs. 500 crore.
Although Kill did not reach the highest-grossing numbers, it still managed to earn Rs. 47.12 crore against a budget of Rs. 40 crore. It also saw a lot of appreciation from the audience on the whole for its filmmaking, action sequences and acting.
Recently, Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga has also been receiving a lot of love and critical acclaim for its understated storytelling and powerful acting.
However, at the same time, if you look at the highest-grossing Hindi films of the past two to three years, then chances are very high that at least 4-5 from the top 10 list would be franchise films, sequels or reboots of some kind.
It Is Not Just Films, Even The Music Industry Is Not Spared
Familiarity appears to have become just as valuable in music as it has in filmmaking. Much like films are increasingly returning as Part 2 or Part 3, songs are returning as remixes, recreations and “reimagined” versions. The soundtrack to 2019’s Pati Patni Aur Woh featured recreated versions of “Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare,” originally from Dulhe Raja (1998).
In recent history, several movies have recreated older songs, used them as they are, or remixed them. Take the Dhurandhar franchise that used a number of old songs for its soundtrack, including Bappi Lahiri’s Ramba Ho from the 1981 movie Armaan, a sample of the 1995 Punjabi song Na Dil De Pardesi Nu, Piya Tu Ab To Aja from Caravan (1971), the RD Burman and Asha Bhosle song Dum Maro Dum and many others.
Then Chunnari Chunnari from Biwi No.1 (1999) was used in the recently released Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai, and Sandese Aate Hain from Border (1997) was featured in Border 2, which released in January this year.
Besides that, Pati Patni Aur Woh Do (2026), a sequel to the 2019 film Pati Patni Aur Woh (which was already a remake of the 1978 movie of the same name), also used a bunch of old songs and remixed versions in its soundtrack.
The songs Jeena Nahin Mujhe (original from Tezaab-1988), Pyar Karke Pachtaye (original from Pyaar Ke Side Effects-2006), and Pyar Mein Kyun Hota Hai (original from Tere Naam-2003) were taken as they were, while several others were also remixed versions of other songs.
Welcome to the Jungle released the song Uncha Lamba Kad Forever, which was a remix of the 2007 version of the same song from the original movie Welcome.
Composer Tanishk Bagchi has been behind many of Bollywood’s recreations, almost infamously so. In a 2020 interview with The Times of India, Bagchi explained why 1990s songs became particularly attractive for recreation.
He said, “90s songs have a superb recall value and don’t take much time to pick up. Tanishk also says that obtaining rights to these 90s numbers is much easier than getting the rights of the 70s-80s numbers. “You don’t know which company holds the rights, or who they sold it to. The 90s songs being not that old, it is easier to get their data and reach out to people associated with it.”
Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta, in an X/Twitter post made on June 1, however, raised a question regarding this slew of remixes. He wrote, “Film music in 2026: every super-hit from 20 years ago has been remixed and released. My genuine concern: what will they remix in 2046? The remixes?”
Music composer Anu Malik, who composed some of these songs, also reportedly said, “Chunnari Chunnari and Hai Jawani… title track, and four songs in Border 2 in a small span became hits again. It fills me with pride and happiness that we created superhit songs that can last forever. Industry makers like David (Dhawan) or anyone else, all are friends we have co-created with them, so I don’t have any problem with recreations.”
“My only question is – when I am there, songwriter Sameer is there, so why not give us a film to create? Can’t we recreate our own songs that we have created with heart and soul?”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, The Print, Hindustan Times
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Bollywood, Bollywood sequels, Bollywood sequel factory, awarapan 2, dhamal 4, border 2, cocktail 2, welcome 3
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