Film Heritage Foundation brings 4K restoration of Meena Kumari's classic Pakeezah to London Film Festival
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
A 4K restored version of Meena Kumari -starrer 1972 classic Pakeezah is set to have its world premiere at Festival Lumiere in Lyon, France, and the BFI London Movie Festival. The restoration on the movie, directed by Kamal Amrohi, was spearheaded by not-for-profit organisation Movie Heritage Foundation, which spent two years to bring the movie to its original glory.
Adding to this, Pakeezah is widely remembered for Meena Kumari's iconic performance. About the premiere of Pakeezah The world premiere in Lyon will be led by Cannes and Lumiere chief Thierry Frémaux.
Meanwhile, From France, the movie will travel to London for a gala screening at the BFI IMAX, that will be presented by FHF director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur alongside Amrohi's children, Tajdar and Rukhsaar and grandson Bilal Amrohi.
Notably, Hailed by the late movie critic Derek Malcolm as one of the most extraordinary musical melodramas ever made, Pakeezah boasts a legendary, production-plagued history that mirrors the high drama and heartbreak of its onscreen narrative.
As per the latest buzz, View this post on Instagram A post shared by Movie Heritage Foundation (@filmheritagefoundation)
In further updates, Dungarpur shared restoring Pakeezah has been a long-held dream for him ever since he saw the movie as a child with his grandmother in a cinema hall in Dumraon, Bihar. He thanked Bilal for being the "moving spirit" behind the restoration work.
On top of that, "The restoration of 'Pakeezah' took two years. It has been one of the most exciting yet one of the most challenging restorations I have worked on. When I went to inspect the original camera negative and saw that it had almost melted, my heart sank.
"And the other movie elements we had to work with were not in good condition with faded colours, scratches and mould... I wondered how I would be able to restore Kamal Amrohi's original vision with what I had to work with," Dungerpur shared in a note.
Source: Hindustan Times