Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 13, 2014)

Enthused by the positive response to his recent film, Amole Gupte is planning a sequel to Hawaa Hawaai. “Maybe we can call it Return to Hawaa Hawaai,” laughs the filmmaker, who is currently shooting the second instalment of Singham, titled Singham Returns, in which he plays the main villain. “I’m the bad man in good times, it helps exorcise the evil,” explains the filmmaker.

 Meanwhile, Amole has at least five ideas on how to take his critically acclaimed sports drama forward. “It will definitely be a coming-of-age film about the triumph of will but it won’t necessarily centre on a sport. It could be a road movie or a holiday flick. And it’ll be just as moving and ecstatic as Hawaa Hawaai,” he promises.

And will this film too star his son Partho and the four kids who made up the victorious motley crew? “I have the option of making the film without Partho but it would be unfair to drop the five kids given their bonding with the audience,” admits Amole who selected the four debutant child stars from the film and theatre study classes he holds every Saturday in a city Municipal school. And he says that the training helped a lot.

 “Thanks to the short films made by the students, the kids were spontaneous while facing the movie camera and not overwhelmed by the adulation that followed. We need to keep our heads on our shoulders as we continue with our journey forward.”