With reports coming in that Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, and Raveena Tandon starrer Mohra will be re-releasing in cinemas on November 6, hinting at a possible clash with Ramayana: Part 1, the former’s director Rajiv Rai has clarified that his 1994 film will only land in single-screens and might not even be released in Mumbai.
In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Rajiv confirmed the re-release and explained that the film would be screened across different centres in the country over several months.
"Yes, it is true that Mohra is being re-released, but in a very, very limited and small way on single screens around the country. It will continue taking the rounds of different centres over a period of six months or so. So, will my latest film Zora (which re-released on October 23). Maybe my other old films might follow suit,” he said.
The filmmaker also explained why he has chosen to keep the re-releases away from multiplexes. According to him, high ticket prices and the Virtual Print Fee (VPF) charged by cinema chains make the business less viable for older films.
"These films are not going to release in PVR or other multiplex chains where ticket prices are steep and also because the VPF (Virtual Print Fee) charged by cinemas is high. Old films have been watched a million times and, in reality, the business is negligible. I am just doing this as an exercise. Of course, sometimes repeat-run films do very well, but it's rare. You have to continuously move the films around India. If you do that, the collections can add up to a respectable total over time,” he said.
Rajiv dismissed the possibility of a direct clash with Ramayana, explaining that the decision was based on the availability of screens at smaller centres.
"I am not coming against Ramayana. Because everyone has moved away from Diwali, there's an opening in small centres and I'm trying to take advantage of that. Also, it's an auspicious date to start something. Anyway, Ramayana cannot book all the cinemas in the country,” he said.
The director added that Mohra may not even find a screen in Mumbai.
"There may not even be a cinema for Mohra in Mumbai and hence, there's no clash with any film. These old films are exhausted, but there's always an interest among a certain class of audience. There are people who want to visit big screens for old films and for them, we are going to re-release Mohra,” he added.
