Emraan Hashmi in Murder 3

Vishesh Films' latest release Murder 2, starringEmraan Hashmi and Jacqueline Fernandez, is the second biggest hit of the year after Salman Khan's Ready. The Bhatt brothers are now planning a third film in the successful series. 

Says Mukesh Bhatt, "We will be ready to launch Murder 3 soon. Our creative team is already working on it. Emraan and Mohit Suri (the fim's director) will return for Murder 3. The Murder series caters to a younger noir cinema that has erotica as its theme. Murder 3 will again be a no-holds-barred, completely new experience." Mahesh Bhatt adds, "The Murder series is for changingIndia, where the masses and classes overlap. From Saraansh to Murder 2, it's been one hell of a journey for me. Murder 3 will have its own expectations, but we are hell bent on delivering a bigger hit." 

On retaining Emraan for the Murder series, Mahesh says, "Like Sean Connery in the James Bondseries, Emraan will be in all our Murder series. He is an in-house asset created by us." According to Mahesh, what has worked for the film is its content. "Mere shock value and titillation are not enough to pull in an audience today. A good narrative combined with a modern morality is necessary." 

It was the older Bhatt's idea to come out with Murder 2. Admits Mahesh, "Yes it was my idea. Like all good ideas, it was born out of the darkest moment of our lives. We had given three flops — Jashn, Tum Mile and Crook — and had moved away from what we started out with 11 years ago, i.e. cost effective, high concept films. I told my team that we should go back to what made me a brand with our next film. Today, Murder 2 has beaten the original film four times over." 


TRADE SPEAK 
Taran Adarsh says, "Murder 2 is Vishesh Films' biggest hit yet. It is the biggest hit of 2011 in terms of returns to investment. This is also the biggest hit of Emraan's career in a solo hero project. Various factors worked for the film. Apart from the brand, the scare and sex factor is a lethal combination. It's the complete package that has worked."