2024, the year of second chances: How re-releases like Laila Majnu, Tumbbad, Kal Ho Naa Ho, and more stole the spotlight

Laila Majnu: A people-powered revival

Initially met with lukewarm reception, Laila Majnu soared to new heights during its re-release. Director Sajid Ali credited the film’s revival to an organic surge in demand. “This wasn’t a decision we made,” Ali told SCREEN. “There was a growing community of people who, which I understood later, were talking about the film and many of them would talk about how they wished they could have seen it in the theatres and then I started reading and hearing about how there was a demand for a re-release,” Ali said. According to him, the overwhelming response the film received on its re-release in Kashmir’s Srinagar made PVR release the film in 50 more screens in the country. “By the time Friday night was over, we were in 650 screens,” the director said.

 

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Talking about the broader implications of this trend, Ali said, “Not every film is going to be like fast food. Some films will have greater longevity and will give you remuneration in different forms, maybe some will last longer. All kinds of flowers have the right to bloom under the sun. So there will be demand for fast food as well. The Friday number crunch is real but there will also be these slow burners who will have another chance and then one more chance as long as they can promise you some quality.”

 

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Tumbbad: The second act that paid off

For Tumbbad, actor-producer Sohum Shah saw the re-release as a deeply personal victory. “When Tumbbad released in 2018, it was a film that people appreciated but didn’t immediately flock to in large numbers. I truly believed it hadn’t fully reached the audiences it deserved,” Shah told SCREEN, adding the makers treated this as an “original release”. With a robust marketing push, the film tripled its original box office performance during its re-release. “This ratified my faith in the power of good cinema and the audiences to recognise that… it is truly humbling to see how much love and recognition Tumbbad garnered in its second innings. It reassured me that good stories always find their way, even if it takes time,” he said.

Admitting the film’s second innings in theatres helped him get the validation he feels he deserved, Shah said, “Seeing it resonate so strongly with audiences years later was a deeply validating experience. It made me believe taking risks, backing your instinct, having faith in the story, following the vision you’ve set for yourself and of course hard work, will reap rewards – it’s only a matter of time.”

Nostalgia reigns supreme

The re-release of Kal Ho Naa Ho added a fresh layer to its legacy. Director Nikkhil Advani noted that the film’s initial release in 2003 was not about the box office numbers, but about creating a film that would stand the test of time. A News18 report quoted Advani as saying, “Earlier, we could make a Kal Ho Naa Ho and no one used to care how much it was made for and how it’s doing. It was made for Rs 32 crore. If you talk in terms of the inflation today, it would have made more than Rs 1000 crore,” Advani said. However, Advani lamented that the current focus of filmmakers has shifted towards achieving impressive box-office numbers, rather than prioritising the cultural impact of a film. He said, “Today, we are only talking about Rs 800 crore!”

What’s next for re-releases?

The success of these re-releases raises important questions about the traditional models of film distribution and marketing. Will we see more studios and producers embracing re-releases as a viable strategy? How will this impact the way we consume and engage with films? According to Amit Sharma, the managing director of Miraj Cinemas, the re-release trend is not an ideal situation, but rather a result of a lack of fresh content. “Honestly speaking, this is not an ideal situation because you definitely want to re-release the films at a time when you are celebrating a decade or 25 years, or a golden jubilee, with the actor or director’s legacy. But if in a year, if you say that one of the re-released films is one of the top ten films of the year, in number of admissions, it is not a great year to talk about,” Sharma said.

However, film business expert and producer Girish Johar sees the re-release trend as a positive sign. “Obviously there was a lot of learning to be done from this. I believe a proper (film) release planning wasn’t there and we should have a proper fiscal calendar so everyone gets ample space and there is no clash or anything. Secondly, we say that when you are not confident you go back to your basics, so I think going back to their basics, of proven films, was the best way for the exhibiting fraternity also because you needed films for the audiences to return to the theatres,” Johar said.

With over 50 films being re-released in 2024, Johar believes that the trend will continue, albeit in a smaller scale. He said, “Specifically from the re-releases point of view I think we had more than 50 films being re-released this year, which shows that people are still high on nostalgia. It also shows that as a fraternity we want to keep the wheel going and the business going. Next year also if there is a gap week, filmmakers should look at re-reasing their films for the same of nostalgia, as it is definitely working for the audiences.”