Old Movies, New Hype, WHY?
Like Taylor Swift once said, “We never go out of style!” The same applies to movies. Old movies never go out of style. They are all about the nostalgia and the emotional connection of the audience. A movie has the power of influencing its audience. It’s an extremely powerful and well-loved form of narration, especially in India.
The year 2024 saw the re-releasing of many old “cult classics” of Bollywood. We had Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Rockstar, Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani, Satya, and many more grace the cinema halls’ doors again. The movies that had not done well initially also broke records at the box office, like Tumbbad. And it has been a tradition for the past few years of re-releasing Jab We Met on Valentine’s Day
This Valentine’s Week we have many movies that are being re-released. Some of them being Sanam Teri Kasam, Padmaavat, Interstellar, Bachna Ae Haseeno, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, and many more.
This raises the question: why are there so many re-releases happening?
Experts say that one of the many reasons could be the audience’s dissatisfaction with the new content. With repetitive storylines, unwanted sequels, and poorly written screenplays, it is safe to say that audiences are not pleased with recent films. We can observe a recent trend of flop movies in the cinema hall.
Hindustan Times
“A growing demand for more entertainment”
Re-releases are also used as fillers in between to keep the public entertained if any movie release gets pushed back. Old films are used as fillers so that they do not keep the cinema halls empty.
We also have a lot of new devices that allow us to watch films at home, i.e., the OTT platforms. This has led to the audience not visiting the theaters. The theaters have to compete with these online platforms. Unfortunately, theaters are not on the winning side. The popularity of these OTT platforms has led to the shutdown of many small theaters, resulting in many people being left without jobs.
This is where these re-releases play a great role. You see, because of the strong sense of fondness that the audiences feel toward some films, these films are re-released to drive the audiences to the theaters.
“Sanam Teri Kasam” re-release? Straight fire. 50 crore? That’s a flex. Beat “Tumbbad,” too. Proves old movies can still slap if they get the feels. OTT boosted, theaters popped. They understood the assignment. This proves nostalgia is not just for boomers – if you do it right, old films can still dominate the box office.
These re-releases allow the film’s distributors to capitalize on the intellectual property of the movie. It is also much cheaper than releasing a new movie, plus it also allows the theaters to make a profit. It allows the studios to make profit with minimal costs and expenses.
The Established
“Nostalgia outshines new offerings!”
Now you might be wondering why people love to watch these re-releases. The answer is simple. These old films provide the audiences with a sense of nostalgia. The audiences have a strong emotional connection with these films, and sometimes the films provide us with a cultural impact, like Rockstar. It also allows the film to gain a newer audience, who might have missed the initial release.
When we talk about nostalgia, we cannot not mention any Shah Rukh Khan film that was released in the past year. When we talk about re-releases, we absolutely cannot miss the iconic re-releases of Shah Rukh Khan’s “Veer Zaara”.
The re-release of this heart-touching rom-com which was originally released in 2004, gained huge popularity. It had crossed the 100 crore mark at the global box office. This proves that these re-releases are not just facets for the theatres and the distributors to make money. These re-releases are also backed by the bond that the people share with these films. It allows the audience to relive their cherished memories and fall in love with their favourites all over again.
But even this has its downsides. Too much nostalgia can feel forced. Overuse of these old movies can hamper the nostalgia of the community and make the movie feel inauthentic.
The distributors and the theatres have to keep in mind not to hamper with the nostalgia of the audience otherwise they might end up estranging the audience from their comfort movies.
The NDTV
“Compelling narratives, strong scripts, nostalgia drives this deluge of re-releases”
Sometimes a film also carries a deep cultural legacy amongst the masses. The film “Dangal” was first released in 2016, but was released once again to celebrate its success and its role in promoting women’s sports.
These re-releases act as a reminder of the earlier era of storytelling in Bollywood. They are also a nod towards the emotional depth and creativity of the rich heritage of the film industry. It also allows the younger generations to connect with the films that were perhaps watched by their elders. In an unrealistic way, we can also say that these movies help people connect more with their families.
But this still does not answer our question of the reason behind the massive re-release trend of films.
The truth is, the answer to this is still debatable. We never know what actually influences the distributors to re-release a movie. Was it driven by the strong sense of nostalgia? Or was it because of the capitalization of the rights of that film? We may never find out.
Another debate that goes around this topic is whether or not this trend of re-releasing cult classics will go on or not. While some say that this trend will continue for a while with new content getting pushed back, others believe that the trend would not last long with new content lined up for the theatres.
But we may not have to worry too much about it since the films have been acting as a source of comfort for the audience. They also act as a great contributor for bringing friends and family together. But we have to make sure that we do not exploit these resources too much, killing the entertainment factor of the masses in the process.
In the end, whether it’s nostalgia, capitalization, or a mix of both, re-releases are here to stay, for now. To find the balance, we must celebrate the classics, but keep pushing for new stories that will become the classics of tomorrow.
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