Aamir’s ‘Raakh’ to be re-launched during ongoing stalemate

Raakh releases in theatres on June 12 (the DVD release will follow in August) under the banner of Audacity International (also the distributors),which is a joint venture between the movie’s director Aditya Bhattacharya,producer Asif Noor and world cinema major Palador Pictures. However,this isn’t a one-off project as Audacity intends to buy the rights to similar pieces of good Indian cinema and revive them.

“Raakh is undoubtedly one of the most influential voices from India and it shaped my early fascination with films that were non-Bollywood. It was tragic to see cult movies like this languishing and in a state of neglect. Restoring and re-releasing Raakh across the world is not just a passion but our duty towards cinema,” says Gautam Shiknis,MD and founder of Palador Pictures,who first suggested the concept to Bhattacharya.

“I was discussing another project with Palador when Gautam,who is an ardent admirer of Raakh,brought the topic up,” says Bhattacharya. “The idea just evolved since it is the movie’s 20th anniversary this year. I later flew down Asif who is currently based in Dubai.”

The movie is likely to release with 200 prints. However,Audacity has yet to decide whether to release the movie in multiplexes as well as in single screens or to comply with the stand taken by the producers’ guild.

Either way,given the reigning popularity of Khan and the multiplex-producers standoff,the release is perfectly timed. Bhattacharya acknowledges the fact but insists that it is just a coincidence. “We had other offers in the past,but we chose to partner with Palador because their intent is to promote good Indian cinema in the long run as opposed to cashing in on Aamir’s popularity. But that is not to say that profitability isn’t an intent,” he says.

While the partners aren’t yet willing to reveal the names of other films that Audacity International is looking at acquiring,chances are that regional cinema is on the list. “The point is to take good Indian cinema,films which have been forgotten,to the rest of the world. Indians seem to know more about European cinema than about our regional movies,which is a sad state of affairs,” says Bhattacharya.