Wasseypur, Rewinded: How an old listing brought a new rush

By early 2024, we’d started accepting that new releases weren’t pulling people into theatres the way they were supposed to. After the heady box office highs of 2023, thanks to Shah Rukh Khan, the assumption was that we’d turned a corner. But somewhere along the way, the momentum got stuck. The buzz around every new film was short-lived. Promising trailers were followed by lukewarm openings. There wasn’t even a pattern to decode. It just wasn’t working.

At the same time, something unexpected was brewing in the background. Every couple of weeks, a film from another time was finding its way back into theatres. Jab We Met. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Laila Majnu. Re-releases weren’t a nostalgia gimmick anymore. They were a programming strategy.

And audiences? They showed up.

The industry rejoiced. Reporters started calling. Clients were curious. Why were people stepping out to watch movies they’d already seen on laptops, TVs, even phones? Why now?

There were plenty of theories. Comfort, familiarity, the absence of exciting new options. But no one had a clear answer. There was no big trend deck explaining it. Just a growing sense that people were looking for something they already knew would hit — emotionally, cinematically, or both.

Around this time, we received an update along with many other client updates. Gangs of Wasseypur, both parts, were set to return to theatres. Not everywhere, just a limited re-release by one national multiplex chain.

It caught our attention instantly. That chain also happened to be one of our clients, and my partner and I have always been a little obsessed with the film. Still, we hesitated. Re-releases were already a thing by then. What made this one different?

We jumped on a call with the client. Like us, they weren’t sure about what the story was going to be either. It was a calendar entry, not a campaign.

Almost on impulse, we messaged Anurag Kashyap. We weren’t expecting a reply, but he responded. Warmly. He thanked the client and mentioned this would be the first time, outside film festivals, that both parts would play together — "as they were meant to be watched."

That one line reframed everything. It wasn’t just a re-release. It was a reintroduction. A chance to watch Gangs of Wasseypur the way it was originally envisioned — long, immersive, messy, brilliant.

We reached out to a few cast members. Their replies came in quickly. Each one had something personal to say — a memory, a reflection, a sense of pride. Even over a decade after it was first released, you could tell this film wasn’t just another title in their filmography; it "meant" something.

And suddenly, so did this project to us.

We put together a press note. Not a pitch, not a marketing deck, but something that captured the feeling behind this screening. It wasn’t about box office returns or campaign metrics. It was about bringing something iconic back to where it belonged — on the big screen, in front of people who knew every dialogue, and others who were watching it for the first time.

Media coverage was decent, not overwhelming, not underwhelming. But in a way, the impact was clearer outside the news cycle. People came. Some dragged friends who hadn’t seen it before. Others just wanted to relive the chaos of Wasseypur in surround sound. Theatres reported great reactions. Staff said people clapped at Ramadhir Singh’s monologue. Social media was soon flooded with videos of audiences dancing, gamchhas slung over shoulders, matching the film’s beat. 

That’s not something you can plan for.

What struck us most was how effortless it felt once it was in motion. There wasn’t a detailed campaign playbook or a 20-slide pitch. It was just the right film, at the right time, in the right format. We didn’t build hype around it, the film already had its own gravity. All we did was give it a little space to pull people back in.

Looking back, this wasn’t a masterstroke or planned as a campaign. But it reminded us of something we don’t often admit in this business that the best work doesn’t start with an idea, but with the recognition of value, of timing, of emotion. Everything else follows.

And sometimes, that recognition comes not with a pitch, but with a screening. Two parts. Back-to-back. Just as they were meant to be watched.

This article is penned by Gaurav Gupta, Co-founder, Roots and More Pvt Ltd. 

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.