Rajiv Rai on re-releasing Mohra: ‘I’m not clashing with Ramayana’ | Exclusive

Mumbai: Ramayana, produced by Namit Malhotra, opens in cinemas on November 5, and another film will follow just a day later. Rajiv Rai’s 1994 action thriller Mohra, starring Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon and Suniel Shetty, returns to theatres on November 6, and the timing has fuelled talk of a box-office clash. Rai rejects that framing outright, saying he is simply coming on a Friday. The filmmaker calls the re-release a test run for his old titles, with no promotion, no multiplexes and no cast campaign. In an exclusive communication to News9 Digital, Rajiv Rai, filmmaker, speaks about why he chose Mohra, why he is staying away from multiplexes, how wide the release will be, and his take on Ramayana and Ranbir Kapoor. Read on for the interview.

Rajiv Rai interview on Mohra re-release and Ramayana

Q: What prompted you to re-release Mohra?

Rajiv Rai: It has been on my mind for the last decade that at some point I should put my films back in the cinemas. But cinema is very volatile and speculative. Ticket prices vary, show timings are not in your control, and you never know where a film is going.

I released my film Zora in 2025 and I have Zora Zoravar on my hands, which I want to take to B and C centres. So, I thought I would do test runs with my old films. This is just an exercise. I am not doing it to make money. Sometimes you have to do your karma and do your work. At the end of the day, I am a distributor. I have these films, and I am starting my re-releases with Mohra. Diwali is the new year, so why not begin on an auspicious date?

Q: Will Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon promote the re-release?

Rajiv Rai: I am not promoting the film. I am sorry if that sounds rude, but I haven’t approached them, called them or asked them to post on Instagram. I don’t even know whether the cast knows the film is re-releasing, whether Naseeruddin Shah knows, or Suniel Shetty. I don’t want to take up their time and energy for this. If it were a big multiplex release across India and I were spending a couple of crores, I would ask them to help. That is not the case.

I am not investing any money in promotion. All we are doing is making posters and putting them on social media because the film is releasing on the 6th. Those who want to see it that day will have to find a city, not a cinema, and maybe take a train there [laughs].

Q: Why are you staying away from multiplexes?

Rajiv Rai: Mainly because of the VPF, the virtual print fee, which is much higher in multiplexes than in single screens. Ticket prices are also steeper in the big cities, which drives people away rather than drawing them in. In B and C centres, Mohra will be shown at roughly Rs 40 to Rs 120, with an average of Rs 40 to Rs 80. That lets people afford to go to the cinema, and the sound in those theatres is good.

I have nothing against multiplexes. That is where city audiences want to watch films, and I am sure some people will be disappointed that Mohra isn’t there. I can foresee that, but there is nothing I can do. If you want to see it, you will have to go to a B or C centre. I am not sure it will show in Mumbai or Pune. I am looking at places like Bengal, Kerala, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Bihar, Jharkhand, UP and Assam. India is very vast, so I will take the film slowly, one centre at a time.

Q: How wide will the release be?

Rajiv Rai: About 100 cinemas across India to begin with, maybe 200 or 250. We only find out two days before how many screens we have got. Then it will rotate: 100 this week, 50 next, another 50, then another 100. The film will keep circulating for a year. It is not like a new release that is gone in three weeks. People don’t understand the concept of re-releasing an old hit, and since I hold the rights, I will go centre by centre, state by state.

Q: Does the film need to be re-certified by the censor board?

Rajiv Rai: No. Once a film is censored, it is censored. Nobody re-certifies an old film, and as far as I know, that isn’t the rule at the moment.

Q: Your release falls right next to Ramayana. Do you think you could have chosen another date?

Rajiv Rai: Ramayana is releasing on November 5 and Mohra on the 6th. I am releasing on a Friday, and that has nothing to do with Ramayana. If the Friday were the 4th, I would have released on the 4th. I don’t want to break the Friday-release cycle. There is no vacant Friday anyway, so by that logic you would be clashing with some film every week.

Q: Reports are calling this a box-office clash. What is your response?

Rajiv Rai: I am not clashing with Ramayana. I am not a fool, and anyone who made that kind of statement would be laughed at. I am a spiritual man and a Ram bhakt. I wish all the best to my friend Namit Malhotra, a great producer who has made a very big effort on this film. I want Ramayana to break all records, and I will be watching it on the first day, first show.

Mine is a 32-year-old film. I am not trampling on anyone, and if I weren’t releasing, somebody else would use those cinemas. I wish all films well. What is being written about a clash is people trying to make news out of nothing. It didn’t come from me, and I don’t like it. It isn’t healthy and it doesn’t do me any good. I would never step in the way of any film, least of all Ramayana, which is a very big film. I am coming only because I think I will find space in B and C centres. If I don’t, I will come the week after.

Q: Won’t Ramayana take away your screens and audience?

Rajiv Rai: Ramayana will take 90 to 95 per cent of the cinemas, and I am sure it will do very well. But all the other films have switched off their releases, which leaves a vacuum of 10 to 20 per cent in small cinemas. An old film’s business is an old film’s business. The audience I attract will be different, people who are faithful to the film and want to revisit it. If anything, Ramayana helps me. If you have seen it once, twice or three times and want to watch something else, I am there, in the smaller centres.

Q: Are you focusing mainly on B and C centres?

Rajiv Rai: Yes, very much. I think Ramayana will focus on them too, but my guess is it can’t take every cinema. If you put a film in a cinema here and another one 400 metres away, the business gets divided, so you have to space them out. I don’t know their strategy, but I am sure it is a good one. If I get those centres, great. If not, I will do it the week after. There is no love lost.

Q: Have you seen Ranbir Kapoor in Ramayana promotional material?

Rajiv Rai: I have seen the promos, like everyone else, and Ranbir looks outstanding. He has a fantastic personality and has clearly worked very hard. To me, he looks like Rama. Everybody has their own opinion, but I wish the film the best.