NEW DELHI: Actors long associated with iconic film roles are increasingly acquiring rights to older hits, betting that nostalgia-driven intellectual property can generate fresh value through remakes, sequels, streaming, licensing and franchise extensions in an overcrowded content market.
Recently, actor Sanjay Dutt acquired the rights to his 1993 hit that he plans to reimagine along with Jio Studios and Aksha Kamboj’s Aspect Entertainment. In the past, stars like Shah Rukh Khan too have bought rights to older hits from original producers, reflecting a broader shift in how value is captured in the content economy.
Khan has bought rights to older hits such as Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and One 2 Ka 4 from original producers.
For producers, selling rights can provide immediate liquidity, reduce risk and monetize legacy content that may otherwise remain underexploited. For actors with enduring brand equity, ownership offers long-term upside tied to audience recall and personal association with the film. Producers may also prefer upfront cash over investing again in restoration, OTT pitching, merchandising or fresh distribution. At the same time, the glut of content has made monetization harder for most titles, increasing the premium on films with lasting cultural resonance.
“The original producer has typically recouped their investment through box office, satellite deals, and music licensing long before an actor comes knocking. What remains is residual value, which for an older film is modest at best. The producer is essentially sitting on a depreciating asset,” said Avadhi Joshi, founding partner, Minara Legal, adding that the calculus flips entirely when the actor steps in.
The actor's continued stardom, public persona, and legacy retroactively become the film's commercial engine. So the producer monetizes a windfall they couldn't have generated alone, and the actor acquires an asset whose value they themselves can grow, Joshi added.
Film producer Anand Pandit said nostalgic IP remains a premium asset, whether repurposed as a remake or extended into a sequel. “On YouTube alone, classic songs and films have millions of views. When blockbusters from the past are screened, sometimes they do better business than the latest releases. For actors, this may be a way to protect a legacy project for which they are most remembered.”
According to Rahul Hingmire, managing partner, Vis Legis Law Practice, producers may also prefer to sell rather than spend again on restoration, OTT pitching, sequel planning, merchandizing or fresh distribution.
“The reason is simple: instead of spending again on restoration, OTT pitching, sequel planning, merchandising or fresh distribution, the producer may prefer upfront cash. For the actor, it makes sense because the film carries personal brand value and audience memory,” Hingmire said, adding that producers are unlikely to sell cheaply if satellite, digital, music or remake rights remain commercially active.
Rights maze
Yet acquiring film rights is rarely straightforward.
Neel Mason, Of Counsel, Obhan Mason, said film rights are often fragmented across producers, co-producers, financiers, distributors and music labels, requiring extensive due diligence to establish clear title and ownership alignment. The complexity and cost rise further in co-production scenarios where rights may be split across territories or mediums.
“A film is never a single intellectual property, and that's what catches most people off guard. The master copyright sits atop a stack of separately owned rights: the story, screenplay, dialogue, lyrics, music. Buying the film doesn't automatically buy you all of that. In a co-production, rights are often split by territory or medium, and if any original rights holder is deceased, you're now in succession law territory, which in creative estates is rarely clean. Every one of those gaps needs to be closed before you have a title worth owning,” said Isheta T Batra, founder, TrailBlazer Advocates.
Aarushi Jain, partner head - media, education and gaming, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, said buyers must first establish exactly which rights are being acquired and from whom before validating the chain of title.
To navigate ownership disputes and historical claims, the industry typically relies on extensive due diligence and public trade notices, according to Narendra Hirawat, chairman, NH Studioz, which specializes in content acquisition and distribution.
There is no fixed valuation model or "MRP"; a film's price is entirely dependent on its popularity and demand, Hirawat said.
Valuation puzzle
Valuation has become more complex in a market shaped by content oversupply and shifting viewing habits, where traditional box office metrics matter less than long-tail monetization through streaming, catalogue licensing, international syndication and IP extensions.
Old film libraries are frequently bundled and sold to streaming platforms, while producers with strong catalogues are often invited to renew licensing deals for five to seven years because older titles continue to draw consistent viewership on OTT platforms. In contrast, many new films either struggle to find streaming buyers or fail to attract significant audiences online.
“There’s a lot of content out there right now, probably too much. But not all of it has an audience that already loves it. Platforms aren’t just buying a movie, they’re buying the recognition, the nostalgia, the built-in conversation around it. So while a lot of ordinary content sits unsold and undervalued, anything with genuine cultural recall is actually quite valuable right now,” said Apurv Abhay Modi, managing director and co-founder, Abhāy Group, a global, diversified conglomerate with a strong presence across sectors including digital content, consumer services and emerging technologies.