Bollywood classics make a comeback on the silver screen

In 2012 a documentary titled Celluloid Man released and this captivating film highlighted the sorry state of film archives in our country Turns out those responsible for the rise of Hindi cinema mdash unlike our counterparts in the West mdash didnt care much about preserving movies after having made their share of moneyA still from MS Sathyus Garm Hava which is often credited with heralding a new wave of art cinema movement in BTown The film details the slow disintegration of a Muslim family and is one of the most poignant films ever made on Indias partitionRegardless in the recent past there have been periodic instances where classic ol films were restored in order to be shown at film festivals And if that wasnt encouraging enough the trend of restoration and preservation took a forward leap as several old films are being restored and pursuing a Friday rerelease in theatres With Garm Hava being the latest entrant to this growing trend hitlist checks out the others from this categorySholay 1975Director Ramesh Sippy Lowdown While most Hindi classics dont get preserved mdash let alone restored mdash Sholay went a step ahead of its peers in 2013 The film was not only restored but also converted to 3D thus becoming the first Hindi film from the past to have a 3D rerelease Although the technical advents were appreciated by critics the effort didnt score impressive BO figuresGarm Hava 1974Director MS SathyuLowdown Indias official entry to the Oscars this groundbreaking film in the parallel cinema genre heralded Farooq Shaikhs acting career Exactly 40 years later this Friday the audience will get a chance to revisit the times when arthouse cinema was beginning to making its presence feltThe greatest challenge we faced while restoring the film was to enhance the quality of the picture and sound without touching the content Tricky as the entire process was the end result is something we are quite proud of said RD Deshpanday of Indikino Edutainment the company responsible for the restoration of Garm Hava MughaleAzam 1960Director K AsifLowdown If only all Hindi classics were treated the way this Dilip Kumar and Madhubalastarrer was In 2004 the blacknwhite film was restored as well as colour corrected before being rereleased Like Dilip Kumar who missed the original films premiere but attended the restored prints first show loads of cinephiles queued up for a glimpseJaane Bhi Do Yaaro 1983Director Kundan ShahLowdown Theres no denying the fact that very few Indian films enjoy a cult status like this comedy does No wonder why the makers mdash apparently without the directors knowledge mdash decided to digitally restore the film The new print was released in November 2012 with oodles of admiration from critics and the audience alikeChashme Buddoor 1981Director Sai ParanjpyeLowdown When the news of this movies remake emerged there was palpable disquiet among the makers of the original film But it so happened along with David Dhawans remake a digitally restored print of Chashme Buddoor was released on the same Friday in 2012 This development delighted cinelovers but didnt set the box office coffers ringingSalaam Bombay 1988Director Mira Nair Lowdown Its sad when a film of this stature doesnt make it to most of the media mdash or social media for that matter mdash when its being rereleased This Oscarnominated masterpiece was restored and rereleased but the buzz was so tepid that a majority of cinegoers werent aware of this development which might explain the low footfall in 2013OmDarBaDar 1988Director Kamal SwaroopLowdown When hitlist spoke to the director on the eve of the films release he was simply relieved to see what was going on After all his quirky project took about 26 years to earn a Friday release in 2014 although it was being shown at film schools and festivals until then And the best part was the film was restored with all the visual nuances intact making it a worthwhile watch