If the movie announcements happening in the Punjabi film industry were an unfortunate natural disaster, it would have created dire circumstances in the state for the uncontrollable rate at which there announcements are happening is astounding. In which is perhaps the first-of-its-kind spree, movies are being announced at the rate of buying daily grocery from a supermarket.

Don’t dither to call it a classic case of herd mentality where people are trying to emulate one another in the name of putting forward their vision for the next year. What all this clamour has done is removed the sheen off announcing several projects, which, if announced, after a certain interval would have generated extravagant ballyhoo.

An upshot of these announcements also makes one realize the fact that at least a quintet of Punjabi movies will get converted into franchises. Among the sequels (including a third installment) which have been announced for a 2019-release are ‘Laavaan Phere 2’, ‘Manje Bistre 2‘, ‘Nikka Zaildar 3‘, ‘Ashke 2‘ and ‘Chak De Fattae 2‘. If reports are to be believed, the sequel of ‘Rabb Da Radio‘ (2017) will also be announced in the near future and that the movie will be up for public viewing next year itself.

With the success of recent sequels in Smeep Kang’s ‘Carry On Jatta 2‘ and Ksshitij Chaudhary’s ‘Mr & Mrs 420 Returns‘, it appears as if film makers have found an easy way out of making their films work on the silver screen.

That being said, it is easier said than done because sequels require a step in both the right and enhanced direction to click. If that doesn’t happen, things can easily fall flat as audiences tend not to accept a degraded version of a hit product in the name of a sequel. Therefore, the writers and directors should buck up for the audiences are unlikely to accept half-baked projects on the silver screen.

There is no doubt in the fact that the sequels have enjoyed substantial success in Punjab in the past. Whether this idée fixe with sequels will be converted into critical and commercial success or will they end up becoming feeble as their announcements, only time will tell. Because a lot of prominent names of the Punjabi industry will be involved in these projects, here is hoping that each one of them stands tall for there will be reputations at stake with such notable projects.