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The 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2025) will spotlight India's cinematic legacy with the screening of 18 carefully restored classics under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM), curated by the NFDC-National Film Archive of India (NFAI) as part of the Indian Panorama Special Package. The restored films span Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, and Marathi cinema, reflecting India's diverse artistic heritage preserved with meticulous archival standards.
The programme carries significant historical importance, commemorating 125 years of V. Shantaram and centenary tributes to Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, Bhupen Hazarika, P. Bhanumati, Salil Choudhury, and K. Vaikunth. The festival also marks 50 years of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), highlighting its role in shaping modern Indian cinema. A special showcase of Shyam Benegal's Susman will pay homage to the filmmaker's enduring contributions. Launched by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in November 2016, the National Film Heritage Mission focuses on the preservation, conservation, digitisation, and restoration of India's film heritage, including camera negatives, release prints, and rare archival material sourced from rights-holders, collectors, and international institutions. The restored titles at IFFI 2025 exemplify the project's rigour, featuring painstaking frame-by-frame digital restoration and colour grading, often supervised by filmmakers, cinematographers, or their collaborators. Highlights include Ritwik Ghatak's Subarnarekha, restored from a 35mm master positive with final grading by cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay, and Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan, restored from a preserved 35mm release print, with Ali personally supervising the grading. His earlier classic Gaman also returns in a reconstructed version. Other notable restorations include Kalpana Lajmi's Rudaali, B N Reddi's Malleswari, Raj Khosla's CID, Guru Dutt's Pyaasa, and V Shantaram's Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani. Modern-era films such as Ek Doctor Ki Maut, Ek Hota Vidushak, Kireedam featuring Mohanlal, and Musafir are also part of the lineup. A rare highlight is Baburao Painter's silent classic Muraliwala (1927), presented with live musical accompaniment by Rahul Ranade, in the presence of Painter's two surviving daughters. Other restored films include Ramesh Saigal's Shaheed (1948) and Mani Ratnam's Gitanjali, reflecting a broad spectrum of eras and narrative traditions. Through these restorations, IFFI 2025 celebrates the work of India's most influential cinematic personalities while reaffirming the country's commitment to preserving its moving-image heritage for future generations. (ANI)
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