2024 can rightly be called the year of re-releases. Over two dozen Hindi films re-released in theatres this year, ranging from old Raj Kapoor classics like Awara and Barsaat to Shah Rukh Khan’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. But it wasn’t just hits of the past that returned to the theatres, allowing modern audiences to experience them on the big screen. At least two cult classics that had flopped when they first released return to ‘correct’ their destiny. Both Laila Majnu and Tumbbad managed that, with the latter becoming the most successful Hindi re-release at the box office. As the year draws to a close, the film’s lead actor and producer, Sohum Shah, looks back at the phenomenon and his biggest learnings from it. (Also read: HT Rewind 2024: How Indian horror films ruled the box office this year, collectively earned more than even Pushpa 2)
₹38 crore upon re-release this year.” title=”Sohum Shah’s Tumbbad earned ₹38 crore upon re-release this year.” />‘I had not gotten closure for Tumbbad’
Tumbbad is a horror film that has often been called one of India’s best in the genre. Yet, upon its original release in 2018, the film had earned just ₹15 crore at the box office. “I had not gotten the closure for Tumbbad. I always felt there was something we could not achieve. There is a word ‘malaal’. I had that in my heart that I could not give this film what it deserved. Tumbbad did not get justice, I felt. The re-release removed all those thoughts. I felt now, that circle is complete in my life,” says Sohum.
The Rahi Anil Barve directorial hit the screens again on August 28. The re-release added a staggering ₹ ₹38 crore to that, making the film a hit, six years after it first hit the screens. Sohum recalls the journey, “Tumbbad, for me, was like my own child. When it was released in 2018 and did not work, I wanted to re-release it then. But everyone told me I was crazy. There was no window for release because of so many releases.”
Then Covid-19 happened, and Sohum got busy with acting projects. Then, in 2024, he noticed there was a window of release. He recounts, “On social media, people are not interested in who Sohum Shah is. All they wanted to know was ‘When is Tumbbad 2 coming?’ and ‘Why are you not re-releasing Tumbbad?’. Whatever I posted on Instagram, these were the only two comments I got. This was my proof of the film’s interest. Once the re-releases began, the messages became a flood, a deluge. There were tweets from film trade experts about Tumbbad’s potential. That turned the tide for us.”
‘Tumbbad re-release taught me the power of marketing’
Tumbbad’s re-release enabled the film to reach out to younger audiences, many of whom were not even teenagers when it was first released, notes Sohum. “I noticed that Tumbbad was watched by many youngsters, the Gen Z kids. They don’t want anything predictable. They don’t want formula films. Post-Covid, people have been exposed to so much good quality work in international cinema that filmmakers have to work harder to impress the audience,” he says.
The Tumbbad re-release allowed Sohum and his team to market the film by themselves, often coming up with ideas and campaigns at midnight, only to execute it the next day. He explains, “I think the year’s biggest learning was that I understood marketing a little, which is important for people making independent films. We are passionately making films like Tumbbad and Ship of Theseus. But now I feel we have understood some aspect of marketing with the Tumbbad re-release. We will see how much we have learnt in the future, but this has been a good learning.”
The actor is hopeful for 2025, saying the new year should keep up this trend of making content win. “That will be the true legacy of 2024 for me,” he says.
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