Director Hansal Mehta’s latest film, The Buckingham Murders, which garnered positive reviews but struggled at the box office, drops on OTT today. This isn't the first time Hansal Mehta’s work has faced a similar fate; his previous films, like Aligarh (2015) and Shahid (2012), were critically acclaimed but failed to achieve commercial success. However, these films went on to find a second life on OTT platforms, where they were appreciated by a wider audience.
With the recent rise in the number of old films hitting the theatres again, and finding takers, would Mehta also be interested in adopting that trend for his films? “If you have to do it, you should do it correctly. Re-releasing a film is an expensive process. I don’t have the money to do it,” he makes it clear.
The 56-year-old adds, “There is money required, especially for marketing and PR. I make a living out of directing. It’s fine. I am glad re-releases are working because films find their audience, which they might not have upon their original theatrical run. There is a whole new generation now. My films, which didn’t get recognised at the time they were released, have found viewers on streaming (platforms) and are being watched online. People message me even today for those works.”
{{/usCountry}}The 56-year-old adds, “There is money required, especially for marketing and PR. I make a living out of directing. It’s fine. I am glad re-releases are working because films find their audience, which they might not have upon their original theatrical run. There is a whole new generation now. My films, which didn’t get recognised at the time they were released, have found viewers on streaming (platforms) and are being watched online. People message me even today for those works.”
{{/usCountry}}Mehta is also busy with the postproduction of his ambitious show Gandhi, starring Pratik Gandhi. “I can’t say much about it, but the shoot has wrapped up; it has shaped well,” he ends.