'Sanam Teri Kasam' Re-Release: How Harshvardhan Rane's 2016 Flop is Scripting Box-Office History Now

On February 7, the Hindi film box office saw a high-octane Friday. There was the rom-com Loveyapa, headlined by star kids Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor, Himesh Reshammiya's spoof actioner Badass Ravi Kumar, and the re-releases of Christopher Nolan's global blockbuster Interstellar (2014), Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmaavat (2018) and Kriti Sanon's Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017). But guess which film emerged as the clear winner by a whopping margin?

A 2016 box office dud titled Sanam Teri Kasam.

Starring Harshvardhan Rane and Pakistani actor Mawra Hocane, Sanam Teri Kasam set history by recording the highest opening day collection for a re-released film.

According to the makers, the Radhika Rao-Vinay Sapru directorial opened at ₹ 5.14 crores, taking the top spot in the re-release film list ahead of popular, acclaimed, and even blockbuster titles like Tumbbad ( ₹ 1.65 crores) and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (₹ 1.15 crores).

The romantic drama's opening was also better than the other releases of Friday, beating better-promoted movies like Loveyapa (₹1.25 crores), Badass Ravi Kumar (₹ 3.52 crores), and the highly-anticipated Interstellar (₹ 2.75 crores).

"I always regretted that Sanam Teri Kasam didn't get its due back then," producer Deepak Mukut told THR India. "Even if the film wasn't a hit in 2016, it was always a success in our hearts. The thing is, we never gave up on it."

Over the weekend, Sanam Teri Kasam netted ₹15 crores—surpassing the movie's lifetime total of ₹9 crores during its original run. Such has been the staggering hold of the movie, that on Monday, when most films dip and fizzle out, Sanam Teri Kasam beat the combined fourth-day total of Loveyapa, Badass Ravi Kumar, and earlier releases including Akshay Kumar-starrer Sky Force and Shahid Kapoor-led Deva.

The Comeback

Harshvardhan Rane, the film's lead star and the one who kept the momentum going for a re-release through his social media, told THR India that the response to the film now has had a significant impact on his journey.

"It gives me hope and the energy to fight more. It is motivating me to go on this uphill journey with more strength. What I have understood from this wait of nearly 10 years, is that nothing will come to you in an instant," Rane said.

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Mukut, who made his production debut with Sanam Teri Kasam, said he was advised by everyone—including his family—that it was a wrong move to attempt on a crowded weekend and further the risk of the film going unnoticed, yet again.

"But I wanted to release it around the Valentine's Day period. I thought if the film were good, it would run this time; if not, I would finally forget that I ever made a film like this. If it didn't work then, and if it didn't work even now, it would have been a clear sign," Mukut added.

Exhibitor Vishek Chauhan, who runs Roopbani Cinema in Bihar, said he had more queries at his cinema hall for Sanam Teri Kasam than any other new release, and when he finally opened the booking on Thursday for only one show, it was sold out in hours.

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"This is behaving like a new Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, or Ranbir Kapoor film that people want to watch! On Saturday, we added another show and both the shows were nearly full. On Sunday, we had three shows... again, all nearly full. It is insanity at play," Chauhan added.

Originally released in around 600 cinema halls in 2016, when Sanam Teri Kasam was being considered for a re-release, the makers were told that the movie would at best get 50 screens today. When the advance booking opened on Wednesday, the movement in sales dictated to the exhibitors that there was a ready audience for the film. On Friday, it was released on 1061 screens, and by Sunday it was playing on 1200 screens.

How did it happen?

The Sanam Teri Kasam story is a classic example of a film being ignored in cinemas, only be to discovered on streaming, satellite re-runs, and then finding a newer audience through Instagram reels. 

Co-director Vinay Sapru recalled how Sanam Teri Kasam had a decent opening weekend back in 2016, but the lack of studio support and faith pulled the plug on its momentum. "After 10 weeks of the release in 2016, we met an exhibitor, who told us the film still had some gas and if given the right push, it could have still done better. But there was no support from the studio. The film then had its natural death."

"But from 2016 until now, not a single day has gone by without us receiving fan mails. It was a carpet bombing of love throughout. The fans sustained the film for nine years. The film was available on OTT, YouTube, and satellite to be watched over and over again; that love turned into a digital movement and culminated with people landing up in theatres," the director added.

Radhika Rao recalled that loyal fans of the film kept requesting the duo to bring the film back to cinemas, "promising" to make it a success. "They stood by their promise, filling up cinemas and proving that movies ultimately belong to the audience. Once the optics of marketing and publicity fade, what remains is what is truly meritorious."

Since last year, when the trend of re-releases picked up, there has been an active community online asking for the comeback of Sanam Teri Kasam.

"There was a fantastic sleeper marketing campaign led by Harshvardhan and the team, who asked fans of the film to keep the momentum going for a re-release," Chauhan noted. "But if the content is not anticipated, you can't manufacture the buzz. Loveyapa was promoted heavily, but did that work?"

The exhibitor says an entire generation grew up watching Shah Rukh Khan delivering blockbuster romantic films, a genre which has now completely faded from cinemas, leaving the young generation "starved" of pure romantic films. "They are not getting their due of intense romantic films, or 'date night' films, which would release frequently earlier. Barring Tumbbad, most other successful re-releases have been romantic films with excellent songs, from Laila Majnu and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani to Veer Zara and Rockstar."

He added, "You cannot replicate the emotion of a couple experiencing a romantic movie on the big screen while watching it on a cell phone. This generation is devoid of it, which is why the makers are pulling these films from the deep freezers of the past... there will be many more coming soon!"