# 90s stars Emraan Hashmi, Sunny Deol revive box office with sequels 2026-08-27T11:30:43+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Stars popular in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Emraan Hashmi and Sunny Deol, have staged a box office comeback after a long run of underwhelming releases. Hashmi's Awarapan 2 earned nearly Rs 140 crore, while Deol's Gadar 2 and Border 2 made Rs 525.45 crore and Rs 341.70 crore respectively. Industry experts say the resurgence is driven by nostalgia, familiar franchises, and sequels that play to what these stars are best known for. BookMyShow's Ashish Saksena said the real pull comes from a strong character, franchise or genre, not just the star's return. Producer Yusuf Shaikh noted that adding music and nostalgia creates an immediate connection with audiences. However, experts caution that nostalgia alone cannot sustain a film. Rohit Dalmia of CineNow called the trend role-led and property-led rather than star-led, combining a familiar face with an established IP. Producer Anand Pandit said films from earlier decades never vanish from public memory thanks to OTT and TV reruns, creating a longing among audiences for films made with conviction. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The pattern mirrors a wider Bollywood shift away from urban multiplex films toward mass-market entertainers that have reliable recall on satellite and YouTube. Awarapan 2 and Gadar 2 succeeded because they gave fans exactly what they expected from those stars, action and music-heavy sequels, while Deol's Batwara 1947, a period drama, flopped, reinforcing the point. The test for studios will be whether these comebacks can extend beyond franchises into original stories, or whether they remain dependent on pre-sold IP. The next measure will come when a 90s star launches a non-sequel film and the opening weekend figures land. ## Coverage - livemint.com Leads with box office figures and quotes multiple industry voices without taking a side on whether the trend is sustainable. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Awarapan 2, Bollywood, BookMyShow, Emraan Hashmi, Gadar 2, Sunny Deol Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/90s-stars-emraan-hashmi-sunny-deol-revive-box-office-with-sequels/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/90s-stars-emraan-hashmi-sunny-deol-revive-box-office-with-sequels/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/