Nostalgia Sells, & Bollywood Knows This

For Gen Z, Bollywood’s nostalgia is an aesthetic, it’s a vibe: something to remix, reinterpret, and reclaim in ways that speak to their current realities.

Swetha+Ramakrishnan

Dec 20, 2024

Still from Kal Ho Naa Ho.

A THEATRE. A GIANT SCREEN. And there it is again—Shah Rukh Khan with his arms outstretched, this time because he mistakenly bumped into Naina, or Preity Zinta, and her best friend Sweetu at Grand Central Station. They look at each other in slow motion. The background score is heavy, announcing the arrival of something iconic, which has the ability to travel many years into the future and still remains as sparkly and rousing as ever.

This is Shah Rukh Khan's entry scene in Kal Ho Naa Ho. The movie is being played in 2024 at a 10 pm show on a Friday night in a swanky theatre in Mumbai. The crowd erupts in woots, everyone’s phone is out to get a picture or a video of SRK, and suddenly it feels like I’m in school again, with only my board exams to worry about or what socks my crush was going to wear the next day. Trust Shah Rukh Khan’s charm to be able to transcend time, space and logic. Or maybe I’m just biased.

At a time when new content appears on streaming platforms faster than we can scroll, nostalgia has emerged as Bollywood's most evocative muse, especially this year with many older films re-releasing in theatres. This isn’t just a nostalgic cash grab (although it’s probably a large part of this recent trend), it’s a reinvention. Or it certainly feels like one when looked through a renewed lens. Films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (K3G), Karan Arjun Rockstar, and Kal Ho Naa Ho have made triumphant comebacks in theatres, rekindling memories for those who grew up on their magic and igniting curiosity among a younger audience. But this resurgence is far from limited to the big screen. Across Instagram timelines, YouTube rabbit holes, and digital memes, nostalgia has taken on an entirely new life—reimagined, recontextualised, and celebrated as both sentiment and spectacle — whether it’s one of my favourite podcasts, IVM Pop’s Has It Aged Well or a docu-series like Angry Young Men that was released on Amazon Prime Video this year.

Cinemas as time machines

Re-releases of iconic films like K3G and Karan Arjun pose an invitation to step back into a world where melodrama was king, families reunited in grand climaxes, and love played out in golden-hued frames. For millennials, watching these films is like a homecoming and a ticket to a childhood where pirated DVDs, Sunday matinees, and seeti-maar one-liners ruled. For Gen Z, it’s an initiation into Bollywood’s unabashed grandeur; a chance to experience it not on a smartphone, but as it was meant to be: larger than life.

Re-releases aren’t new to Bollywood, but the fervour they are now met with speaks to our unique moment in time. What makes these theatrical runs particularly special is the experience they offer: a collective catharsis. This communal joy—in a world otherwise fragmented by hyper-personalised digital media—is perhaps what gives nostalgia its newfound magic.

Films like Rockstar (2011), with its soul-stirring soundtrack and rebellious spirit, or Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), a poignant reminder of fleeting happiness, resonate on multiple levels. They transcend their original audiences and time periods, reminding viewers of cinema’s ability to feel timeless. However, it’s important also to note that beyond the emotional connection, these re-releases have become a commercially savvy decision in a post-pandemic world. With theatres struggling to reclaim their place in an entertainment landscape dominated by streaming platforms, films with a proven legacy are a low-risk, high-reward strategy. The re-release of a film like Tumbbad (a legitimate big-screen experience in my opinion), is proof of this. Nostalgia sells, FOMO is real, and Bollywood knows this.

How the Internet become nostalgia’s playground

While theatres allow us to relive classics, social media transforms nostalgia into an interactive experience. Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube have become modern-day museums where Bollywood’s past is constantly rediscovered, reimagined, and reshaped. Instagram reels can curate Bollywood nostalgia into aesthetically pleasing packages—Poo’s dialogues from K3G turn into viral memes, reels featuring SRK’s iconic poses are set to lo-fi remixes, and creators bring back moments from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam or Dil Chahta Hai with a Gen Z twist (probably a catchy desi rap).

The language of nostalgia has evolved. On X, screenshots from Dil Chahta Hai or Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara become relatable content about friendship, road trips, and existential dilemmas. Instagram reels turn Main Hoon Na into trending sounds, most notably the guitar riff from 'Tumse Milke,' while Rockstar’s visuals are transformed into heartache aesthetics. “POV: You’re crying over fictional characters again” captions accompany montages of Naina and Aman from Kal Ho Naa Ho making Bollywood nostalgia feel current and deeply personal.

Why nostalgia feels so big right now

The resurgence of Bollywood nostalgia isn’t a coincidence. It’s unfolding at a time when the world feels fragmented, uncertain, and extremely fast-paced. Nostalgia presents itself like almost a medicine; for millennials, Bollywood’s golden era represents the innocence of childhood, Sunday afternoons spent watching DDLJ with family and reciting every dialogue, evenings spent memorising lyrics to Kal Ho Naa Ho and wondering how unfair it is that Aman had to die, and summer holidays spent play-acting iconic scenes from K3G. For Gen Z, Bollywood’s nostalgia is an aesthetic, it’s a vibe: something to remix, reinterpret, and reclaim in ways that speak to their current realities. Well, Dua Lipa certainly got the memo.

Releases, remakes, memes, and the internet have ensured that Bollywood classics are no longer frozen in time. Instead, they are living, breathing cultural phenomena, continually reimagined to remain relevant.