Film Heritage Foundation's 4K restoration of Kamal Amrohi’s 1972 Pakeezah will premiere at Festival Lumière in Lyon and screen at BFI London Film Festival.
The world premiere in Lyon will be helmed by Thierry Frémaux, followed by a gala screening at London's BFI IMAX.
The two-year restoration project was executed in collaboration with Kamal Amrohi’s family, including Tajdar, Rukhsaar, and Bilal Amrohi.
Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah 4K Restoration Set For Global Premiere At BFI London Film Festival
Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur overcame damaged camera negatives, mould, and faded colours using original stills and family accounts.
Summary
Kamal Amrohi’s 1972 classic Pakeezah, newly revived in 4K by Film Heritage Foundation, will debut globally at Festival Lumière in Lyon, France. The film will then have its UK Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival this October.
Film Heritage Foundation partnered with the Amrohi family to execute the complex restoration. Over the past year, the non-profit body secured slots at top cinema showcases worldwide. It took In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones to Berlin, Amma Ariyan to Cannes and English, August to Venice.
Festival Circuit Run
France hosts the opening screening. Cannes and Lumière chief Thierry Frémaux will lead the debut in Lyon, cinema's historic birthplace. The print moves to London next for a BFI IMAX event presented by Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur alongside Kamal Amrohi’s children, Tajdar and Rukhsaar and grandson Bilal Amrohi.
Restoration Challenges
“Restoring Pakeezah has been a long-held dream and I am so grateful to Bilal Amrohi for being the moving spirit and encouraging the family to support the restoration and bring the film back to life,” Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director, Film Heritage Foundation said.
He revealed that the restoration of Meena Kumari-starrer took two years and was the most challenging restorations. “When I went to inspect the original camera negative and saw that it had almost melted, my heart sank. And the other film elements we had to work with were not in good condition with faded colours, scratches and mould. During our research we discovered original film stills which helped a great deal and I also consulted Tajdar and Rukhsaar Amrohi who had visited the sets and had vivid memories from the making of the film,” he added.
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Family Memories
Tajdar Amrohi, son of Kamal Amrohi said he never imagined that he would be presenting the restored film with his family at the gala premiere in London fifty-four years later.
Rukhsaar Amrohi, daughter of Kamal Amrohi said Pakeezah was her father’s “obsession, his dream, his oxygen that gave meaning to his life,” adding her father “nurtured the film for over fifteen years like a child till it was fully matured and ready to be presented to the world.”
She cannot wait to see the restored film back on the big screen.
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