Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 16, 2018)

While Aamir Khan’s last few releases have gone on to be money-spinners, one of his earliest films, Raakh (1989), remains among the most underrated gems of Bollywood. Instrumental in bringing smaller films to cinema enthusiasts, the on- demand screening service 1018mb is bringing the crime thriller back to silver screens, 29 years after its release. In a premiere of sorts, the film will be screened tomorrow at a suburban theatre.

Turns out, revisiting the Khan-starrer was filmmaker Bejoy Nambiar’s brainwave. “Raakh is actually one of the films that made me want to be a filmmaker. It is a movie which was way ahead of its time and had such a distinctive directorial voice. A film like this is of great interest to cinema enthusiasts,” says Nambiar.

He reveals that he will also be moderating a session with the film’s director, Aditya Bhattacharya (right), as part of the premiere. “The reason why I chose to be part of a question and answer session with Aditya is because I am such a fan and I have never had the opportunity of discussing it [the film] with him. I have so many questions on my mind.”

Depending on the response, screenings will be held in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bangalore and Chennai. Quiz him if they have reached out to Khan to be part of the premiere and he says, “We haven’t formally invited him yet. He is busy with a shoot in Rajasthan. But it will be great if he can make time for this.”