Avinash Tiwary and Triptii Dimri’s Laila Majnu, which failed to impress audiences in 2018, has now gained popularity among the young generation due to its melodious music and heartfelt performances. The film recently had its re-emergence moment, when it was released again in theatres across India on August 9, 2024. In a rare feat, Laila Majnu‘s re-release crossed the original lifetime box office collection of the movie. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Avinash shared his reaction to the unexpected success of the film. The actor said, “It came out of nowhere. Me and my director (Sajid Ali), we keep saying it’s almost like divine intervention. I had gone to Kashmir for a couple of days, he was in Kashmir so I thought I would meet him. We happened to walk into a restaurant and then 3-4 girls walked in, they made a reel and it went viral the next day. Cut to, I am in Srinagar and I am getting tagged in these reels ‘looking for Qais Bhat’.”
He added, “Then, I was insisted to host a fan meeting in Srinagar and it just didn’t stop from there. It was Muharram that day, there was a crowd everywhere and we had so many female fans. To see all these ladies let out their emotions was something no one expected. We went ahead and tagged PVRs and INOX asking them to re-release the film in Srinagar and it worked. They started with one show, but that turned into three within a day and then the whole weekend theatres were packed.”
Avinash Tiwary revealed that Laila Majnu‘s success in Srinagar motivated the theatres to re-release the film across the country. He said, “The news reached PVR and INOX and then they decided to re-release it all over India. It started with 70 screens in the country and then reached 200 and then 400 the next day. It just kept building on. This is something we had not seen when the film was originally released, we saw 4 people in the theatres.”
The actor said he is grateful to the fans for giving their film a chance. “The joy for me and my director was to just travel to theatres across the country and thank them (fans) for coming to watch our movie. It’s a feeling we had never witnessed before for the film. The only thing I can do is join my hands and thank everyone who’s been supportive of the film.”
Laila Majnu‘s story revolves around Qais and Laila, two Kashmiri lovers who are unable to reconcile because of the hostility from their families. But destiny steps in and Laila marries another man as Qais travels to London. Directed by Sajid Ali, the film was originally released on September 7, 2018.