In Bollywood films, you must have often seen the story of ‘Ponar Janam’, meaning the second birth and success. Often, films with such stories become hits, examples of which are films like ‘Karran Arjun’ and ‘Om Shanti Om’.But what if something like this happens to a film instead of a person, how would it feel? Yes, that too has happened with Pakistani actress Mawra Hussain’s first Indian debut film.
This film of Mawra and Indian actor Harsh Vardhan was first released in 2016, but at that time this film could not get much acceptance among moviegoers and it flopped badly at the box office. Made with a small budget of just fourteen crores, this film could barely earn nine crores at the time of its release in 2016. But now, nine years later, the re-release of ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ is working magic at the Indian box office.
This romantic tragedy film starring Harsh Vardhan and Mawra was re-released on February 7 and did a business of five crores on the first day of its re-release and so far it has done a business of more than 25 crores.
Sanam Teri Kasam is also trending on social media and the reason for this is not only its re-release and good business, but all this is happening at a time when Mawra Hussain is also among the top trends on social media in Pakistan and the reason for this is her wedding.
This film was released on February 5 in 2016 and this time in 2025 this film was released on February 7, the day of Mawra Hussain’s wedding. And this day has become a big day for the film and Mawra herself.
Since this is a love story, the hero of the film Harsh Vardhan wrote on his Instagram account that he wants this film to be released in Valentine’s Week. He not only thanked the fans for the film’s success but also uploaded a video of himself surprising fans by going to the cinema during the film’s screening.
‘Double happiness for Mawra‘
According to comments from social media users and moviegoers, the coincidence of Mawra Hussain’s wedding and the re-release of her film is no coincidence. ‘For Mawra herself, this time is a source of double happiness. While she is uploading pictures of her wedding on her Instagram, she is also looking happy about the unexpected response to the film’s re-release on her Insta Stories.
Actress Mawra Hussain shared a picture of her wedding to Pakistani actor Amir Gilani and wrote, ‘I have truly become rich. It should be remembered that Amir Gilani has worked with Mawra in two early television dramas of his career. One of which is ‘Sthabaat’ in Islamabad and the other is ‘Neem’ filmed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Mawra shared videos of the enthusiastic reaction of moviegoers to the film on her social media and called it unbelievable and said, ‘I am truly crying.’Not only this, but she shared a picture of a scene from the same film and wrote, “This is my husband’s favorite look.”
Filmmaker and director Suraj Kumar, speaking to BBC’s Delhi correspondent Mirza Baqi Baig, said that the trend of re-releasing old Bollywood films in cinemas has gained momentum in recent years for several reasons.
Why are movies re-released?
“Many classic films have a special fan base. Re-releasing them gives the audience, especially the younger generation, an opportunity to watch these films on the big screen. Marketing based on nostalgia affects people’s emotions, which ensures better attendance at cinemas.”
For example, on the occasion of Raj Kapoor’s 100th birthday, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was re-released on its 25th birthday and Ghadar was re-released on its 20th birthday.”
Suraj Kumar says, “Marketing and hype are also a factor before the release of a sequel. When a sequel is about to be released, the original film is often re-released to refresh the memories of the audience and create publicity.” For example, Ghadar 2 led to the re-release of Ghadar.
He said that cinema halls are looking for ways to attract viewers after the Covid pandemic.Some experts believe that there is a business strategy involved in this. Speaking to the BBC, Professor Arvind Das, Director of the School of Media and Journalism at the Pune-based DY Patil International University, said that there are several reasons for the re-release of films.
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“Many times, the prints of films do not reach quickly in small cities. And to fill this time, they release old films so that the moviegoers can stay connected to the cinema.”He further said “In big cities, they want to refresh old memories. Many times, a color print of black and white is made. Now there is a new trend that if films do not work for some reason, they are re-released. Or if the films are shown at a film festival, it gets its fame in the media and the fans start liking it.
