Murder 3 will now be made sooner rather than later. The way it's going Murder 2 will be one of the biggest hits of 2011 and the biggest success so far of the Bhatts' production house. They now want to do Murder 3 quickly. The writing has already begun.
Jubilant and all geared up for the Murder 2 success party to be held on Friday evening, producer Mukesh Bhatt said, "Yes we're already looking at Murder 3. We hope to have it out by the Summer of 2012. "
Shagufta Rafique who wrote Murder 2 has been put on the job of quickly coming up with a crackling script for Murder 3 which will again star Emraan Hashmi. But the USP of the Murder franchise is the eclipsed hottie waiting for a makeover. If Murder presented a made-over Mallika Sherawat and Murder 2 sees a completely revamped Jacqueline Fernandez.
Murder 3 will also see an actress with a made-over image.
Says Mukesh Bhatt, "At the moment I can't reveal the casting plans. But yes Mohit Suri will again direct the next Murder film. "
The one thing that the writer has been asked to keep in mind while doing Murder 3 is to keep the plot original. Murder was apparently plagiarized from Unfaithful and now Murder 2 is said to be ripped off from a Korean film.
Mukesh Bhatt baulks at the suggestion of plagiarism. "People said Murder was copied from Unfaithful when it was more like B R Chopra's Gumrah. As for Murder 2 I haven't even heard of the Korean film The Chaser. If there are similarities then they're purely coincidental. "
Adds Mahesh Bhatt, "Saying Murder 2 is ripped off is an uncharitable remark. It's like saying Gajini was copied from Memento. A situation can't be copyrighted. I'd say Murder 2 is closer to our own production Sangharsh. A Hindi film is like a patched quilt. "
All said and done Murder 3 which is now being written will be absolutely original. About it being made ahead of Raaz 3, Vikram Bhatt who's to direct Raaz 3 for the Bhatts, says, "As far as I know we're going on the floors in January 2012.
Raaz 3 will have Emraan Hashmi and Jacqueline Fernandez. It will also star another girl. But the role is still in development. As for Murder 3 it's a great franchise. But I'm sure Raaz 3 will also have a lot of takers. "