Unlock 1.0: Will re-release of old films do the trick for Indian theatres after re-opening?

As Good Newwz and Dream Girl, both 2019 Bollywood films re-release in UAE with no new movies in hand, will the same strategy work for Indian theatres too? Experts, makers and theatre owners feel it’s a ‘confidence building’ measure, at most.

With life crawling back to normal amid the Covid-19 crisis, and shoots resuming, comes the big question: When will movie theatres open? And an even bigger question: which filmmakers will be ready to test the waters, and see whether audiences trickle in?

Akshay Kumar’s Good Newwz re-releases in UAE on June 11, as a part of getting audiences back to theatres.

UAE, with no new films in hand, has decided to re-release Good Newwz and Dream Girl, both 2019 films, in theatres. Back home too, experts and makers believe the same strategy would be employed.

OLD MIGHT STRIKE GOLD

Manoj Desai, Executive Director of G7 Multiplex and Maratha Mandir cinema, Mumbai says, “A theatre lockdown happened in 1996, too. Upon re-opening, I decided to re-run the 1961 Shammi Kapoor film Junglee. It was housefull. Then, I re-released Teesri Manzil, again housefull. I had thought this long back, just after the Covid-19 lockdown started, that I will again use this idea.”

Earlier, speculation was rife that big releases such as Sooryavanshi and 83 — that went on hold due to the pandemic — would be the first ones to release to ensure audiences flock to theatres. But, 83 director Kabir Khan told us recently, “It’s not like the lockdown will open and we will throw our films to test the waters. No. We will wait till we’re comfortable.”

Shibashish Sarkar, Group CEO, Reliance Entertainment, that’s backing both the mentioned films, says, “We are expecting theatres to re-open some time in mid to end of July. Also, it won’t be all India together, but slowly in some states. It’s not as if suddenly some ready made films would be released, it will take time.”

Sarkar further adds that Hollywood films are expected to come first. “Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Mulan, then Wonder Woman 1984 in August. I do expect old films to be released again, but don’t expect people to come to the hall for them. It would be a kind of practice for theatres to start cleaning up, get everything ready,” he shares.

Sarkar also confirms that both their films won’t be among the first ones to release, but adds that Reliance would give any of their titles such as Simmba, Golmaal Again, Super 30 for free to theatre owners. “They are part of our life, we survive because theatres are there,” he says.

THE OTT FACTOR

Another question that strikes is any old or even recent films such as Angrezi Medium or Baaghi 3 — which bore the brunt of Covid-19 outbreak — are already available on OTT platforms, for months now. Why would people pay to watch them again in a theatre?

Hardik Mehta, whose film RoohiAfzana starring Janhvi Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao is stuck, says it’s true that people won’t flock to watch these films again.

“But, it’s an important step forward. Good Newwz is releasing in UAE as a good news, that cinemas are open, it is important to build confidence in the audience and come up with a creative distribution strategy. Like, let’s run cinema halls for 24 hours, but only at 50 percent capacity. Also, Nolan will release Tenet in July, even those cushioned at home will say ‘I will have to go to a theatre for it’,” he says.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says it all depends on the film. “If they re-release Baahubali (2015), it would attract audiences. It’s a wait and watch. To begin with, most films are not ready yet, we don’t know when would theatres re-open. When the government gives a go ahead, you can’t expect audiences to come in one go. But obviously, theatres have to do their job, so they would re-release. I believe distributors and studios would also co-operate, the big films will come later.”

Ask Desai his take on this from a theatre’s point of view, and he says, “People are not venturing out of their homes, why would they come to theatres? Plus the mentality is such that if you are getting to watch it for free, why would you spend money? I’ve been running theatres for 46 years now, only I know how. Opening a theatre right now would be a big mistake. Theatres anyway will be the last to open I feel. Shops have re-opened in Mumbai on an odd-even basis, and customers are not there. We will be troubled if the same happens in theatres.”

A source even goes on to tell us that business gets impacted by cheap pirated DVDs too, which people with no subscription to OTT platforms prefer to enjoy at home. And even the producer sometimes is in.

“If the film has potential, then the printing cost can even go up to 40-50 lakhs. A producer told me that they didn’t get the 40 lakhs from a release circuit, but got it by pirating their film themselves,” we are told.

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