Twenty-two-year-old sociology graduate and theatre artist Darshana Choudhary had grown up listening to old Hindi songs, courtesy of her parents. One of the albums that played the most in her house was ‘Guide’, which had gems such as ‘Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain’ and ‘Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai’. However, despite her fascination with the album, Choudhary had never watched the 1965 film. So, when it was announced that the film would be screened across multiple theatres in India to commemorate Dev Anand’s 100th birth anniversary, along with ‘CID’, ‘Jewel Thief’ and ‘Johnny Mera Naam’, she booked tickets instantly.

“I realised that such movies require the audience to surrender to them. I couldn’t do that on YouTube,” says Choudhary.

Like her, many young and old moviegoers across the country are filling up theatres to catch a rerun of films first released years ago. Like Dev Anand, similar screenings in PVRs and single screens have been held by the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) to commemorate iconic films of superstar Amitabh Bachchan and Dilip Kumar. To celebrate his 45 years in Bollywood, director Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s best films hit the big screen on Friday.

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, archivist and founder of FHF, is leading this initiative. “My dream was to make classics accessible to the public, and not just restrict them to film festivals. Most of these films are available on OTT platforms but I always felt that the films made with so much effort are our heritage, and deserve to be screened on the big screen,” says Dungarpur.

Ahead of Big B’s 80th birthday last year, Singh reached out to PVR, producers, and the actor himself, to figure out a way to screen films such as ‘Deewaar’, ‘Don’, and ‘Mili’. Most of the responses were skeptical, he says, including that of Bachchan, who very politely asked why people would pay to see such old films in the theatre again?

However, FHF’s persistence paid off and some exhibitors agreed to screen the films across three days in October. The event was a huge success, with most shows sold out. It was followed by similar screenings to pay tribute to Dilip Kumar in December last year, and then Dev Anand this September. The ticket prices ranged from Rs 100-150, and the posters were redesigned to appeal to the young and old.

The trend began last year, when theatres were struggling to bring back audiences after the pandemic, but has now taken a life of its own. “For Mr Bachchan’s films, we had screenings in 17 cities. For Dilip Kumar, it increased to 27 cities, and for Dev saab, we were able to reach 30 cities and 58 cinemas!” says Singh, with pride.

From big production houses such as Yash Raj Films bringing back their biggest romantic hits for Valentine’s Week this year to small-budget films with a cult following, there’s room for multiple genres and stories today. Among the upcoming releases is Kamal Hassan’s 1987 silent black comedy ‘Pushpak’.

Director and writer Pawan Kumar’s landmark Kannada film ‘Lucia’ was re-released in September, ten years after its initial run at the box office. This small-budget debut venture has been lauded by fans and critics for its alternate style of filmmaking. However, the director never thought that he’d see people buying tickets for it again. “Even at a time when shows of a big film like ‘Jawan’ were running housefull, people agreed to give a few screens to us. I took my daughter to see the film; she was not even born when it was first released,” Kumar says.

It’s the coming together of commerce, nostalgia, and heritage. Above all, it’s an excellent way to reach two generations, says Vebhuti Duggal, film studies professor at Delhi’s Ambedkar University. “For the generation that has seen the films and stars on screen, rewatching them with their family holds value and nostalgia. Then, there’s a generation that has only watched them on television or on YouTube, and has been curious to see them on the big screen,” she says.

Film producers and multiplexes are also waking up to the commercial value of classic films, like music labels did decades ago. “When the trend of remixing old songs or creating new renditions became popular, music labels such as HMV and T-Series remastered old tracks, and re-released them online, via cassettes, and vinyls,” she says.

For PVR Pictures’ chief executive Kamal Gianchandani, the trend is a sign of the value that the moviegoing experience holds even today. “It’s a big validation of theatres because all these films are freely available on so many platforms, and yet people choose to buy tickets. It also makes business sense because on a long-term basis, this is helping us get new customers. And as for those ones who already come to the cinema, this is helping us increase their frequency,” he says.

Beyond the commerce, Durganpur says the films are also helping drive conversations around the importance of preserving film heritage. More and more youngsters are attending workshops to know more about the process, and flocking to see screenings of rare prints of black and white films such as Kamal Amrohi’s Mahal (1949).

Choudhary says that a crucial part of the experience of watching old movies in a theatre is a sense of community. “We are together to celebrate a film that we love.”

When veteran actress Waheeda Rehman heard that four classics of Dev Anand, including Guide which also featured her, were being re-released, she wondered if moviegoers would be interested in watching 60–70-year-old films in cinemas. She was surprised to know that the shows of these films C.I.D. (1956), Guide (1965), Jewel Thief (1967) and Johny Mera Naam (1970), which will happen over this weekend as part of Dev Anand’s birth centenary celebrations, had been sold out.

"Restored and remastered films provide a higher-quality viewing experience. Post the pandemic younger audiences are going out for movies while the older audience has stayed away. Re-release of classic titles has enabled us to bring back this audience to cinemas."

- Gautam Dutta, Co-CEO, PVR INOX Limited

---------------------------------------------------------

“These special screenings offer a chance to relive iconic moments and share the magic of timeless films with a new generation of cinema enthusiasts. The response to re-releases has been overwhelming."

- Devang Sampat, CEO Cinepolis India

---------------------------------------------------------

"When I recently met Waheeda ji to invite her to the Dev Anand film festival, she was shocked to discover that there is a huge craze among people for these classics. She couldn't believe that the shows of these re-releases were mostly sold-out."

- Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, film archivist and director of Film Heritage Foundation

- Khalnayak, on completion of 30 years of the film

- Koi Mil Gaya, to celebrate its 20th anniversary

- RRR, before the Academy Awards ceremony

- Avatar, before the release of Avatar 2  Gadar, before the release of Gadar 2

- Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, to celebrate Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday

A part from the Dev Anand films, Kamal Haasan’s 1987 film Pushpak is set to be re-released in theatres soon. Exhibitors say that in the last year, several films have been re-released to celebrate actors’ birth anniversaries, film anniversaries, and even to hype some upcoming sequels. Industry insiders say that the reason why there’s such a huge demand for these films is because “re-releases give young moviegoers a chance to discover classics on the big screen and evoke nostalgia in the older generation”.

Movies like Titanic (English), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Hindi), Ticket to Paradise (English), Ved (Marathi), Geetha Govindam (Telugu), Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (Tamil), Hridayam (Malayalam), Googly (Kannada), Love Ni Bhavai (Gujarati) were re-released as part of the festival in multiple cities

To mark Dilip Kumar’s birth centenary, Aan (1952), Devdas (1955), Ram Aur Shyam (1967) and Shakti (1982) were released in 31 cinemas in 21 cities

Interstellar, Inception, The Dark Knight and Dunkirk were re-released ahead of Oppenheimer’s release date

It was held in Chennai and Coimbatore last year with shows of Baba (2002), Sivaji: The Boss (2007), 2.0 (2018) and Darbar (2020)

To celebrate Amitabh Bachchan’s 80th birthday, a film festival was organized in 17 cities where Kaala Patthar, Kaalia, Kabhi Kabhie, Namak Halaal, Abhimaan, Don and Deewaar were screened

Kamal Haasan’s production house announced the re-release of his 1987 classic, Pushpak.

Narayanan Valliappan, CEO of Raaj Kamal Films International, tells mid-day, “We have decided to re-release several cult films of Kamal Haasan, and Pushpak is one of them. It is a landmark film in Indian cinema that has stood the test of time and is still revered by many. From its unique format, which was devoid of dialogue, to its central plot, Pushpak is a cinematic masterpiece. The film’s re-release will ensure younger film enthusiasts can experience its timeless magic. We have acquired the rights from the producer and are deciding about the number of theatres in which we should re-release it. This will be a remastered digital version and will be released in all the languages across the world.”

The silent black comedy—also starring Amala Akkineni, Pratap Pothen, Tinu Anand, and Samir Khakhar—revolved around an unemployed and homeless man who serendipitously finds himself in a luxurious hotel room and decides to assume the identity of its rightful occupant. This film won the National Film Award for Best Art Direction.

Thirty years after Singeetham Srinivasa Rao's Kamal Haasan and Amala-starrer Pushpak, Marathi filmmaker Kishore Belekar is gearing up for a Bollywood debut with a silent black comedy, Gandhi Talks, which revolves around three characters in need of money.

Kishore, who has previously directed the acclaimed 2013 Marathi film Yeda featuring Reema Lagooo and Ashutosh Rana, revealed to Mirror that the film is set in South Mumbai and that watching Pushpak in 1995 fuelled a desire to make a similar film. “I was also experimenting with theatre at the time and had been meaning to write something in the same genre. Since there are no dialogues in the film, I spent 11 years writing the script, emphasising every scene to perfection. It was difficult but exciting,“ the filmmaker said, adding that he completed the script as recently as last September and will now start work on the casting.

“I want to start filming by April and will be doing multiple workshops with my actors to prep up,“ Kishore adds. The film's background score will be pre-recorded to help the actors perform better.

Meanwhile, Kishore touched base with Singeetham six months ago to seek his blessings. “He was happy to know that I am making a film in a similar genre as Pushpak. I will be meeting him soon to seek further guidance,“ he signs off.