In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh has offered a candid perspective on the current state of sequels in Bollywood, emphasizing that audiences today are more discerning and are no longer automatically drawn to follow-up films, no matter how successful their predecessors were.

EXCLUSIVE: Taran Adarsh on sequels, “Audiences no longer want forced follow-ups”

Reflecting on 2025, Adarsh said, “Even this year, the situation has largely been the same. Some of the big films, especially if I mention two or three – Sikandar, War 2, and Son Of Sardaar 2, were quite disappointing at the box office. I don’t think it was a good year for sequels as such, except for one or two cases.”

He acknowledged that there were exceptions: “If you look at it overall, Raid 2 was quite good, but apart from that, it wasn’t really a strong year for sequels. Around the time Housefull (5) released, things felt very average.”

Adarsh stressed that sequels cannot rely on brand value alone. “The only real problem I see and this is my belief is that audiences no longer want forced sequels. Just because a film becomes successful doesn’t mean you can immediately announce another one by adding ‘2’, ‘3’, or ‘4’ to the title. The story has to justify the continuation. That point has now been clearly proven.”

He cited recent examples to illustrate his point. “Take Kantara, for instance. The first chapter was a beautiful film, what a film it was, and it was hugely successful. Kesari 2 was also a very well-made film, but it was more urban-centric. It did reasonably well in certain areas but couldn’t generate the kind of box-office numbers expected.”

Summarizing the lesson for the industry, Adarsh observed, “Eventually, I’ve realized that if the story is strong and the content is good and we always say this, producers know it too somewhere along the way, there’s still a slip. And when you look at the final box-office collections, they don’t always reflect what we assumed beforehand.”

Adarsh’s comments underline a larger shift in Bollywood, where sequels now require solid storytelling and genuine audience interest rather than just a familiar franchise name. For filmmakers, the message is clear: success depends not on legacy alone, but on crafting films that truly resonate with viewers.

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