Looking at the varying popularity of different movies and TV shows is a great way of understanding how our tastes in entertainment are changing. The re-release of the movie Interstellar in India has provided one of the biggest repeat hits of the year, but why has it struck a chord with so many viewers?
The Story of Interstellar in India
Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar was originally released in 2014. Described as a sci-fi epic, it focuses on a team of astronauts who travel through space to try and find a new home for humans since Earth is rapidly becoming uninhabitable. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Michael Caine are among the stars who bring this story to life on the big screen. Irrfan Khan had to reject the role of Dr. Mann due to scheduling issues, with Matt Damon taking on the role instead.
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It was well received at the time, becoming the tenth highest-grossing film worldwide released in 2014. Interstellar was nominated five times at the 87th Academy Awards, beating the likes of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Captain America: The Winter Soldier to the Best Visual Effects award.
It was re-released in India for the first time in February this year, to mark the tenth anniversary of its first showing here. The second re-release coincided with the Holi festivities on the 14th of March. Warner Bros India confirmed that the re-release was due to public demand and that it was to be brought back out on a limited run of seven days that included standard cinema screenings as well as IMAX showings.
How Is Modern Tech Boosting Classic Entertainment Ideas?
The February re-release earned Rs 20.20 crore in just seven days, with the March release expected to see that total double. There’s no doubt that Nolan has a massive following here among Indian movie fans, with Inception and Oppenheimer being a couple of his other notable hits, but perhaps it’s the mixture of classic issues and cutting-edge technology that makes Interstellar stand out for Indian audiences.
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While it’s set in the middle of this century and involves futuristic space travel themes, there’s also a classic feel to Interstellar that helps it appeal to audiences. Many forms of classic entertainment still exist in India, with modern technology allowing traditional storytelling, dance and music to reach us in new ways. Chandigarh-based startup Intelliflicks Studios is planning to create the first AI-generated Bollywood movie based on the 2014 book Maharaja in Denims, which would have been hugely expensive to film normally but is being brought to life by cutting-edge AI video generators.
This mixture of classic and modern can be seen in other types of popular entertainment in India. Timeless gambling games like Teen Patti, Andar Bahar and slots can now be played online using the same rules that have been around for many years. This iGaming solutions provider explains how they offer a modern gambling platform where B2B customers can safely offer these games to players. ReactJS is used for a professional front end, while NodeJS is used on the back end. With servers based in Amsterdam and Cloudflare or Stackpath used to protect against DDOS attacks, they use the latest tech to bring games online safely.
At heart, Interstellar is a human tale of complex relationships, with heart-rending scenes such as when the astronauts realise how much time has passed on Earth when they see their families growing up fast. This makes it fit nicely with the combination of classic entertainment and new technology that we love.