'Ghilli', directed by Dharani and featuring Trisha and Vijay in lead roles, is celebrated for its love, action and humour even 20 years after its release. The film’s remastered version hit theatres on April 20, collecting over Rs 30 crore in just two weeks. While most of the earning is from Tamil Nadu and the overseas market, Kerala too has contributed a decent share, grossing more than half a crore from theatres across the state. The collection is largely from theatres owned by PVR INOX.
“When Ghilli released in theatres this year, it was a celebration of sorts. Youngsters, especially fans, were celebrating throughout the show, dancing to all the songs. The shows ran almost houseful in the initial week. We then slated 4.25 pm shows, which also received a decent collection,” said Dilu Venugopal, Cinema General Manager, PVR INOX, Forum Mall.
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According to producer G Suresh Kumar, re-releases are showing an upward trend in the state, with people accepting both Tamil and Malayalam films, even in Kerala. “When Bhadran’s ‘Spadikam’ hit theatres, people accepted it wholeheartedly. Now, Sibi Malayil’s ‘Devadoothan’ is being remastered. We are also planning to remaster ‘Aaramthampuran’ and re-release it in theatres in the future,” said Suresh Kumar, who had bankrolled the Mohanlal-Manju Warrier blockbuster. Though producers like Suresh Kumar are positive about the trend, K Vijayakumar, president of the Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), opined that re-releases still don’t have many takers in Kerala, which is flooded with new films every week.
“One cannot compare the buzz for re-releases in Kerala to Tamil Nadu. People in Kerala are used to getting new releases every week, so they have never been too keen on watching old films in theatres. Of course, films like Ghilli or ‘Lal Salaam’, may make a ripple whenever it comes to theatres, but it is still minimal. Those who arrive in theatres are mostly fans. There are very few family audiences for the movie. There was a time when Malayalam and Tamil re-releases did quite well in Kerala, but we don’t need such gap-fillers these days. I don’t think even a remastered film like ‘Spadikam’ got much revenue here. People have seen these movies already on TV multiple times, so it does not really make sense for them to come to theatres to watch these movies. Also, the youngsters are focused on the treatment of movies rather than the storyline, which is why films like ‘Aavesham’ have a good market in Kerala. Today’s youths are treatment driven and not story focused. So trying to bring in old films to theatres that are already brimming with new content won’t work,” he said.
Director Bhadran, however, disagreed that his remastered film ran to losses in theatres. “It is true that the film had limited shows in theatres when it released last year. This was because our movie clashed with Mammootty’s ‘Christopher’ and we had to content ourselves to one show per day. We plan to re-release it again within a year. This time, however, we will ensure the film does not clash with other new releases,” he said.
Bhadran said he was able to recover Rs 6 crore from the market, though remastering the content was done at a budget of Rs 1 crore. “To be honest, I was never a fan of re-releases. I always believed people should make new content. But, this film is very close to my heart. Every director has films that are close to their heart and Spadikam is the one for me. I made this film for my own satisfaction and to ensure that the movie will remain a timeless classic even for the future generations,” he added.
