Delhi resident Ghosh, one of the millions of enthusiasts who had to watch movies on mobile screens during the COVID-19 pandemic, was elated after finding out that even though there were hardly any new films on screens, PVR re-released Amitach Bachchan’s old classics to mark his anniversary.
“It must have worked for them because at that time an Imtiaz Ali festival took place. And I looked Tamacha on the big screen again,” recalls Ghosh. So, when Shah Rukh Khan’s films returned to theaters, being a die-hard SRK fan, she didn’t miss them either because apart from her love for the actor, she felt that “nothing can match a theatrical experience.
It was a similar experience for colleagues Asmita Pant and Anand Singha when the Harry Potter films returned to theaters in June 2023. Despite being ardent Muggles, the two had never secured tickets to watch the world magic of the Potters on the big screen so far.
“As I sat, eagerly waiting to see Harry and the Wizarding World on the big screen for the first time, it seemed to me that someone had used the time turner. I came back in time when a six-year-old was sitting transfixed in front of the TV screen,” shares Pant.
Anand, for his part, was struck by the realization that he had been a quarter of a century old and that the magic he had felt when he first watched the Potter films on small screens would no longer be never quite the same.
When Waheeda Rehman met Guide, a classic 1965 film starring her was going to be re-released along with other films to mark Dev Anand’s birth centenary in 2023, she had expressed doubts. It was only later that she was shocked to learn that the shows were sold out.
The boring phase of the cinema world has ebbed with big releases hitting the screens, but lately there has been another dry spell due to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Both events attract a lot of attention and producers “prefer” to choose launch dates that would not clash.
To counter this, film industry analyst Taran Adarsh supports re-releasing films to “end boring and dry phases”. He points out that re-releasing successful films was a common practice in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. “In fact, the thriving market for re-releases brought additional revenue to producers/rights owners at that time,” he said. written on X.
Adarsh lamented the “real shortage of content” and said the exhibition sector in particular is feeling the heat.
Hindi distributors of SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus RRR (2022) recently announced the film’s re-release on May 10. And April 17 saw the re-release of Mani Rathnam’s film. Raavan in some cinemas.
The reissue trend also seems to be working well in the South. The makers of the 2004 Tamil film Gilliwhich ran for over 200 days in theaters and was the highest-grossing Tamil film of that year, wanted to revive this success on its 20th anniversary on April 20, 2024.
And their gamble worked, as some reports show. The remastered version of the film, starring Thalapathy Vijay and Trisha, has apparently made a box office collection of ₹30 crore in just two weeks unlike the collections of ₹50 crore when the company was first launched in 2004. According to Koimoi, Gilli secured the third place among the highest-grossing Tamil films in 2024, even dethroning Rajnikanth’s. Lal Salaam.
1998 hit Kannada film Awhich made director Upendra a hero, is also set to be re-released on May 17. In fact, on the same day, the 2005 film Anniana blockbuster hit and re-released in Telugu under the title Aparichithuduwill be telecast again in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Ajith Kumar Mankatha also returned to cinemas after 13 years in May. Kannada Movie 2017 Anjani Putra, starring late actor Puneeth Rajkumar, is also set to be re-released, according to reports.
Holding on to the flavor, even the producer of another Vijay film is bringing his film back to the big screen. “Get ready, Vijay fans! We have an exciting announcement that will definitely get your heart racing! ” wrote producer and distributor Karan Ayngaran, adding that the 2009 film Villu is set to be re-released in theaters on June 21, on the eve of Thalapathy Vijay’s 50th birthday.
PVR Inox Executive Director Sanjeev Kumar Bijli recently said in a publication that the multiplex chain had always believed that there was an audience beyond traditional film screenings. According to Biji, this encourages them to revive old hits, as well as experiment with live matches and big events like the inauguration of Ayodhya Ram Mandir.
India would have finished voting by June 1 and the cricketers would finish the IPL before that on May 27. But the big event for cricket-mad Indians, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, begins just after voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections ends on June 1.
And Adarsh says it’s “high time” for distributors to re-release films “especially in mass pockets” until the regular flow begins in the second half of 2024. Re-releasing blockbuster films in theaters also helps reintroduce these films to a whole new audience in addition to reigniting nostalgia. for many, he jokes.
cnbctv18-forexlive
