Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Varsham, and Baahubali return to theaters – Nostalgia takes over the big screen as cult Telugu classics continue to find their way back to theaters
Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Kajol, and Juhi Chawla starrer madcap comedy Andaz Apna Apna was re-released on May 28 and went on to collect over 50 lakhs. The recently re-released Karan Arjun too had similar collections in the first two days.
In fact, according to the box office collection tracker website Sacnilk, this is exactly the same amount that was collected when the Rajkumar Santoshi directorial was first released back in 1994. The film that had a slow start picked up and went on to collect over 7 crores worldwide.
Coming back to where we began—re-releases are the norm of the day, especially at a time when the straight releases are failing to fill theatres. While the average ones are forced to cancel the shows, the good ones are able to stretch and make it through the first one or two weeks with great difficulty. Nostalgia has been filling the theatres for a couple of years now.
That holds good for the Telugu film industry as well. The latest re-release Aditya 369 was a cult classic when it first released. Directed by the legendary Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and starring Balayya, the fantasy film on time travel—an otherwise universal concept—was remodelled to appeal to the sensibilities of the Telugu audience. It was a runaway hit and has remained in popular memory ever since.
And when it hit theatres again, it went on to draw not just the fans of Balayya but beyond. The same goes for Arya 2, Allu Arjun and Sukumar’s hit sequel to Arya. Nag Ashwin’s debut film Yevade Subramanyam too was evidently a massive hit when it re-released on its 10th anniversary. The film, made when Nani was still an emerging hero and Vijay Deverakonda was hardly a name the audience recognised—and much before Nag Ashwin’s Mahanati and Kalki—was exciting to the cast as much as it was to the audience when it released again.
When Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya re-released in January this year, the group interview that Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee, JD Chakravarthy, Aditya Srivastava, Vishal Bhardwaj, Urmila, and RGV gave to Radio Nasha is proof of how the cast—who have otherwise moved on—feel when they look back at the film that made them what they are. Nostalgia is a powerful draw for all.
- In May 2025 in addition to Chiranjeevi’s JVAS on May 9 there is
- Desa Muduru releasing on May 10th
- Shooji Sircar’s Piku releasing on May 9th,
- Jalsa on May 16th
- Saif Ali Khan’s Hum Tum on May 16th
- Yamadonga on May 18
- Varsham on May 23
- Khaleja & Brahmotsavam on May 30
Banking on this trend, producers are lining up re-releases that demand the least investment as far as marketing is concerned. If you discount larger than life films like Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari that took a lot of effort to restore and Vyjayanthi Films is doing all in its capacity to let more people know about the re-release.
Re-releases can be an excellent way to generate revenue and fill the gap between releases, and previous re-releases are proof of the assured returns. However, trade experts say that not all re-releases are a hit. Its only the films of the younger heroes that are doing will when they return to theatres – is the popular opinion. However as long as nostalgia plays its part the re-release trend is here to stay.
No wonder the maverick director SS Rajamouli plans to re-release Baahubali—his groundbreaking magnum opus—in October this year. The film franchise, which went on to win an Oscar for its song in Part 2, left audiences and filmmakers amazed when it was first introduced. The scale, the grandeur, and the music gave a lift to a story that is as old as the Mahabharata. It changed Telugu filmmaking and the careers of the cast and crew forever. Little did they know at the time that Rajamouli would not just repeat but outdo himself in Part 2.
Baahubali Part 1 was released on July 10, 2015, in 4000 screens worldwide in four languages—Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam. The film went on to collect 165.1 crores from across the world during its first weekend, according to the Boxoffice India website.
One is sure that the producers of Baahubali have a few ideas up their sleeves to get the maximum mileage when the film re-releases in October.
Meanwhile, in May this year, on May 9, the cult classic from the stables of Ashwini Dutt’s Vyjayanthi Movies—Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari—will be re-released. And Prabhas and Trisha’s Varsham will re-release on May 23. These are the films that have been doing very well on YouTube and OTT. Yet, when they release on big screens, they create mass euphoria as fans clamour to get tickets and create a festive atmosphere in the otherwise forlorn theatres.
Most of these massive hits that are chosen for re-release have timeless music and songs that were chart busters in their time and continue to be on top playlists. The dialogues of most of these films have gained cult status, and the younger audience—especially the generations that have watched these films on their smaller screens time and again—come back for the theatrical experience. For the older lot, it’s nostalgia no less.
It’s a win-win for all, and the trend of re-releases is going to continue for some time to come.
Upcoming Rereleases in Telugu Film Industry Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari Gallery
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