The stress of following a cult favorite could be huge, particularly when the unique has developed a deeply loyal viewers over time. For author Bilal Siddiqui, engaged on ‘Awarapan 2’ meant understanding that emotional connection with out permitting nostalgia to dictate your entire sequel. A self-confessed admirer of the 2007 movie, Siddiqui describes getting the chance to put in writing its follow-up as a private achievement. On the identical time, he knew the sequel needed to justify its existence by taking the story someplace new.“I’m a giant fan of the primary half and this can be a dream come true,” Siddiqui tells Selection India in an unique interview. “I had seen it at school and was actually fascinated by it, Emraan’s efficiency, the storytelling and the songs.”
Respecting what made the unique particular
Siddiqui’s reference to ‘Awarapan’ goes past merely having watched the movie. He says its music continues to be a part of his common listening, with songs corresponding to “Toh Phir Aao” and “Tera Mera Rishta” remaining notably memorable. That familiarity additionally made him acutely aware of how strongly audiences join with the unique. Fairly than trying to breed that feeling scene by scene, the writing workforce centered on understanding why the movie had remained essential to viewers.“I do know the burden that this movie holds emotionally for the followers and the elements which have made it a cult basic,” he says. The problem, due to this fact, was to protect the emotional id of the franchise whereas making a narrative that might stand independently.
Discovering a contemporary story for the sequel
Producer Vishesh Bhatt had sure components in thoughts that wanted to stay central to the ‘Awarapan’ world. Themes corresponding to angst, redemption, motion, love and devotion have been thought of important, however Siddiqui says they wanted to be positioned inside a completely new storyline.“This stuff that made ‘Awarapan’ resonate with the audiences must come again and we wanted a contemporary automobile for these themes to exist in,” Siddiqui says.The writers consequently turned their consideration in the direction of Shivam Pandit, the character performed by Emraan Hashmi within the first movie. As a substitute of treating the sequel as a separate story carrying the identical title, the workforce wished to discover what might occur subsequent in Shivam’s life.
Shivam Pandit stays on the centre
In response to Siddiqui, Vishesh Bhatt was notably fascinated about persevering with Shivam’s journey as a result of the character was basic to what made the primary movie work. “Vishesh was clear that he wished to take Shivam forward as a personality, since he’s what makes ‘Awarapan’ work,” Siddiqui says.Siddiqui, Bhatt, Hashmi and director Nitin Kakkar reportedly spent months discussing completely different prospects earlier than deciding on the story that ultimately turned ‘Awarapan 2’.The author insists that the method was not about attaching an unrelated plot to a longtime title merely due to its familiarity. “We did not need to simply patch on any story to the title and name it “‘Awarapan 2’. The story we landed ultimately upon is a really natural strategy to carry his story ahead,” he says.
Why Shivam’s story nonetheless had extra to discover
For Siddiqui, the primary movie didn’t essentially mark the tip of Shivam Pandit’s emotional journey. The character’s sophisticated nature and unresolved struggles offered sufficient materials to discover one other chapter of his life.“There’s a very attention-grabbing, advanced character that half one had handed us in Shivam Pandit. Life is not completed with him and regardless of being reclusive and burdened, he nonetheless has yet one more struggle left in him.”The sequel, due to this fact, goals to position Shivam in one other demanding part whereas retaining the emotional qualities related together with his character.Siddiqui’s strategy means that ‘Awarapan 2’ is designed not merely as a nostalgia-driven continuation, however as an try to offer Shivam Pandit a significant subsequent chapter whereas preserving the angst, romance, redemption and depth that audiences affiliate with the unique.
