Taapsee Pannu to star in ‘Hasseen Dillruba’ sequel

NEW DELHI: Taapsee Pannu will be seen in the sequel to her film Hasseen Dillruba that had streamed on Netflix, titled Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba. It will be co-produced by Bhushan Kumar-owned T-Series, Aanand L.Rai and Himanshu Sharma.

Popular films made for over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms are being remade in different languages or are inspiring sequels, many of which are slated for theatrical release. South Indian language movies Home and Soorarai Pottru, both released on Amazon Prime Video, have been picked up by Abundantia Entertainment for Hindi remakes.

Malayalam film The Great Indian Kitchen is out with a Tamil version and also has a Hindi remake in the works. While content creators emphasize on the wide reach of these platforms and the potential to enhance appeal in a new language, critics point to the continuing dependence of the Hindi film industry on southern stories, given the lack of originality in the north.

“The trend underpins the fact that stories can find an audience irrespective of platform, and the creative strategy of a company like ours anyway is to be screen-agnostic,“ Vikram Malhotra, founder and CEO of Abundantia Entertainment had said in an earlier interview. The wide reach of streaming platforms, besides the connect and impact of these stories, gives creators the confidence to take them forward in a different language or to a new distribution medium, Malhotra had said. The seamless transition of stories in the coming years can happen not only between movie and web screens but extend to comic books and gaming as well, he added.

Charles George, head of Malayalam-focused OTT service Neestream, that had first streamed The Great Indian Kitchen, had said earlier that good cinema has always been chosen for remakes and any film will appeal to audiences if it connects with them, even if it is available in another language on a streaming platform.