Amidst all the fancy trailers for upcoming Bollywood masala flicks, there comes serenading Vyjayanthimala, yesteryear?s sultry danseuse, on screen in the promo of the ?new? Naya Daur. What strikes immediately is the dash of colour, not the black and white (B&W) classic featuring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala, film buffs are used to.
It all began with Mughal-e-Azam, which was re-released in colour in 2004, raising myriad possibilities for players who were planning to enter the market by re-releasing B&W classics in colour. As it turned out, Mughal-e-Azam raked in about Rs 5 crore in six weeks in the main territories. Consequently, when filmmaker Ravi Chopra took an ?emotional? decision of converting his father?s (BR Chopra) old classics like Naya Daur, Gumraah, Kanoon, Dhool Ka Phool in colour, there were mixed reactions.
Chopra, however, is all set to release Naya Daur in which about Rs 5 crore has been invested, with music released by Saregama being already in stores. In fact Chopra apart, even Arun Dutt?Guru Dutt?s son, is planning to release colour versions of his father?s classics, namely Pyaasa and Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam. Also, Dev Anand is set to release Hum Dono in colour.
While analysts and producers ascertain that these movies have potential, they also point out that the demand depends on what kind of movie is chosen in this category.
Says Taran Adarsh, trade analyst, ?There is tremendous scope for the re-released colour version of old classics as today?s generation has not been able to watch these timeless classics but has only heard about them.?
He adds, ?However, not all movies can make hay by getting coloured. Only a film that has a larger than life theme and great stars who are known even today will click with the audience.? Agrees Sanjay Bhutiani, CEO,
BR Films, ?People like to watch classics in the theatre, so if the work is a ?classic? it will be watched. Naya Daur has a contemporary story and melodious music. We will release only those films which have universal themes and thus have potential.?
Contrary to common perception that the producers of such films are mainly targeting the youth, Bhutiani says the target group for this film has been divided in two categories. The core target is the ?nostalgia segment?, which falls in the age group 35 plus and the other secondary but challenging category is between 18 years and 35 years. ?We are hoping to tap only some part of the latter segment,? he admits. Says Abhishek Karmakar, a young executive in an IT company in Mumbai who belongs to the second segment: ?I do not think my friends and I will want to watch a re-released old film unless it is really appealing like Mughal-e-Azam.?
Even though the expectation from the music is not that high, producers of Naya Daur are happy with the response from traders. Says Bhutiani: ?Saregama has put limited number of stocks of the digitalised music of the movie in the market. We are expecting limited sale of music but theatrical release of the movie should be a success as we are already getting good responses from the distributors.?
Even after this positive note, Bhutiani hastens to add, ?Although we will be restoring all films of BR Chopra because that is like a son?s gift to his father, but releasing them depends on various factors as that involves a lot of investment. We will watch the response to Naya Daur before taking further decisions.?