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Why Awarapan 2 had to be made, reveals writer: ‘Emraan Hashmi’s Shivam Pandit wasn’t done’
Bilal Siddiqui opened up about the challenge of taking Shivam Pandit’s story forward in Awarapan 2, saying the sequel aims to retain the original’s angst in a fresh and organic narrative.
Awarapan 2 has opened really well.
With just a day left for the release of the highly anticipated Awarapan 2, the sequel to Mohit Suri’s 2007 gangster-romance drama Awarapan, anticipation is building around the return of Shivam Pandit. Played by Emraan Hashmi, the troubled character became one of the most enduring aspects of the original film, which has developed a cult following over the years. Now, as the sequel prepares to hit theatres, audiences are eager to discover what life has in store for Shivam.
The challenge of taking forward a film that has acquired such an emotional legacy was not lost on screenwriter Bilal Siddiqui, who also co-wrote and co-created last year’s The Ba***ds of Bollywood with Aryan Khan. In a recent conversation with Variety India, Siddiqui opened up about the process of writing Awarapan 2 and said the intention was never to simply recreate the first film. Instead, the writers wanted to understand what made the original resonate so deeply and build a new story that could carry those emotions forward.
‘I am a big fan of the first part’
“I am a big fan of the first part and this is a dream come true. I had seen it in school and was really fascinated by it, Emraan’s performance, the storytelling and the songs. I know the weight that this film holds emotionally for the fans and the factors that have made it a cult classic,” he said.
Siddiqui revealed that producer Vishesh Bhatt, Emraan Hashmi and director Nitin Kakkar spent months discussing different possibilities before arriving at the story of the sequel. According to him, Bhatt was particularly clear about one thing: Shivam had to remain at the centre of the narrative. “Vishesh was clear that he wanted to take Shivam ahead as a character, since he is what makes Awarapan work. We didn’t want to just patch on any story to the title and call it ‘Awarapan 2’. The story we landed eventually upon is a very organic way to carry his story forward,” Siddiqui said.
‘Shivam still has one more fight left in him’
The writer also explained that while the sequel brings back the emotional ingredients associated with Awarapan, angst, redemption, action, love and devotion, the intention was to place them within an entirely new narrative rather than repeat the beats of the original. “These things that made Awarapan resonate with the audiences would have to come back and we needed a fresh vehicle for these themes to exist in.”
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Siddiqui added that the decision to revisit Shivam also stemmed from the fact that his journey never felt emotionally complete. Despite everything he endured in the first film, the character still had more to confront, making him a natural starting point for a sequel. “There is a very interesting, complex character that part one had handed us in Shivam Pandit. Life isn’t done with him and despite being reclusive and burdened, he still has one more fight left in him.”
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Awarapan 2 is set to release on August 14. Directed by Nitin Kakkar, the film also stars Shabana Azmi, Suvinder Vicky and Disha Patani.
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