Money Lesson: Why Rewatching Your Old Favorite Movies in the Theater Is a Smart Investment

You shout all the Gabbar Singh dialogues loudly, you know that Veeru will be drunk on the village water tank, you hold your best friend’s hand while Jai and Veeru celebrate the song of friendship.

After watching Khosla Ka Ghosla, you travel in the local train and don’t care about the strange looks from the people next to you because you grin to yourself.

You wear white to see Taal… You cry silently in the theater full of Guru Dutt fans, each experiencing different pain, as Geeta Dutt’s voice sings “Wakt ne kiya kya haseen sitam…”.

When new films fail to attract large audiences to theaters and OTT platforms suffer a similar fate, filmmakers and theater fans make money by re-releasing old favorites. And yes, since you don’t think twice before spending a thousand dollars or more on popcorn and coffee, you can learn valuable money lessons from this experience.

Investing vs. speculating

When you book your tickets on a Thursday night for a brand new Friday release and are hoping to get good seats at the cinema near you because you liked the songs and the trailer and you’ll see your favorite star in the film? Then you are one of the optimists, the hopefuls who believe that every film could be worth your time and money.

Some of you will be waiting for the weekend, listening to word of mouth reviews, checking online to see what your “community” is saying, wondering if the movie is worth watching with the masses, or waiting for the movie to be shown an OTT platform in eight weeks.

Both are valid financial attitudes. Going to a brand new movie on the first day because you trust no one but your own opinion is like speculating with your money. Your risk profile shows that you are looking for high returns because you take more risk by investing your hard-earned money in something that hasn’t proven to be a best seller.

If you’re risk-averse, wait for the market to evaluate the stock you’re eyeing and then invest in it. You may pay more (like watching movies on the weekend), but you’ll be rewarded more.

“Old is gold” also works for your money!

The National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai shows restored cinema classics every Saturday. You watch Shammi Kapoor’s ‘Teesri Manzil’ and sing along to all your favorite songs, but are secretly appalled at Asha Parekh denigrating a great person, calling him ‘Ei Mote!’ again and again…

Young people in the audience of Sholay wonder why the film is so long even though the rest of the theater is singing every dialogue loudly.

I had to fight my way into a screening of “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” and was grateful to see the film from the front row. When I came home with a tingling sensation in the back of my neck, I knew the experience was worth it.

You too have invested your money in value stocks. Stocks that were once underestimated by the market but have grown significantly over the years. They’re like Warren Buffet, Benjamin Graham and Charlie Munger! They recognized the potential of certain stocks and their patience and trust paid off.

That’s why movie theaters are re-releasing old films, because they know the masses will come back for caramel-and-cheese-covered nostalgia, to introduce old hits to a new generation, and yes, to bring back small joys in a world gone mad . So keep an eye out for the listing of your favorite old movie and have a great weekend full of fun. You deserve it!

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveler, founder of Caferati – an online writers forum, host of Mumbai’s oldest open mic and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.