Taal to Tumbbad, why are so many movies being re-released in theatres?

Tumbbad is running in theatres now, Taal is re-releasing this week

From Taal (1999) to Tum Bin (2001) and Tumbbad (2018), a bunch of previously released films are being screened in movie theatres all over again. PVR INOX has been re-releasing classics, as well as some not-so-old films, in theatres of late. Much to the delight of the exhibitors, some of these films are doing exceptionally well at the box office, as a testament to their long-lasting appeal among movie-goers.

How did movie re-releases begin?

The exercise started as an experiment after a bunch of film festivals dedicated to certain cinema icons and filmmakers found favourable audiences. "We organized festivals of Amitabh Bachchan, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar's films - a lot of people watched their work on the big screen for the first time. We keep doing a few festivals through the year. This summer we did festivals dedicated to Zoya Akhtar and Imtiaz Ali. In the last few months, we have seen the success of film festivals and re-releases. So, we want to curate more of these," explains Niharika Bijli, Lead - Strategist, PVR INOX Ltd.

Niharika shares that the idea of re-releases stemmed from the enthusiastic response to these festivals, and started as fillers during lean weeks. She shares, "Re-releases started as an experiment when we had some lean weeks. We wanted to put out these films as fillers. But the response from the fraternity, from people like Zoya Akhtar and Imtiaz Ali, to come out and support their films, was outstanding. And that I think contributed to a greater response from the audience. This has encouraged us to incorporate these into our mainstream programming and strategically release them. In collaboration with the film industry, we are going to give this a huge backing, so that they are on par with the new releases."

Offering a range of re-releases

They have been offering a potpourri of films to choose from. From Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar to Sohum Shah's Tumbbad and Subhash Ghai's Taal - there's no common theme or thread to the re-releases yet. "I think going forward we are going to bring in some kind of synergy in how we are re-releasing these films. So far it has been an anniversary celebration - of a film's release, or a filmmaker or and actor celebrating a milestone. Or if a new filmmaker or an actor has had a successful film recently, we are using that momentum to also promote the re-releases," Niharika says.

What are the logistics of procuring and releasing old films? "Indian classical films have to be restored, that process is already ongoing. In most cases, if there is an anniversary, we reach out to the distributor or they reach out to us. And we also have our library. But we are trying to create synergy with the fraternity. So it's mostly a back-and-forth process."

What does it mean for the movie business?

"Films have found a way to stay alive through OTT and television. Generations have been re-watching them on those platforms. Those have helped create the awareness. Them being shown on the big screen is attractive to the consumer, which we find very heartening. Despite these films being available on different platforms, people are coming to watch them on the big screen. Also, for the younger generation, it is an opportunity to watch old films in theatres," emphasizes Niharika.