Now Reading: 90s stars Emraan Hashmi, Sunny Deol revive box office with sequels
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90s stars Emraan Hashmi, Sunny Deol revive box office with sequels
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…
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.
Source: livemint.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
