Post-production giant Prasad will exhibit 10 restored Indian classics at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa from November 20 to 28.
The restored titles are part of an ongoing collaboration between the National Film Development Corporation, the National Film Archive of India and Prasad and span decades of Indian cinema. The lineup also includes Muzaffar Ali’s 1981 costume drama “Umrao Jaan,” in which Rekha starred as a 19th-century courtesan.
The 10 films that will be screened at IFFI are Ali’s Umrao Jaan (1981) and Gaman (1978), Kalpana Rajmi’s Rudaari (1993), Rito’s These are Wicku Ghatak’s Subarnarekha (1965), Baburao Painter’s Muraliwala (1927), and Govind Nihalani’s Party. (1984), Guru Dutt’s ‘Pyaasa’ (1957), Shyam Benegal’s ‘Susman’ (1987), Sibi Malail’s ‘Kireedam’ (1989) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s ‘Musafir’ (1957).
Prasad’s restoration team utilized digital restoration techniques, color grading, and quality control protocols to preserve the original vision of each film while ensuring technical fidelity across image and audio elements.
“Restoring these films is both a responsibility and a privilege,” said Abhishek Prasad, Director and CTO of Prasad. “Each title contains a piece of India’s cultural memory – the skill, courage and creativity of the filmmakers who defined our cinematic language.”
Director Prasad will also screen two restored Sri Lankan films at the 47th Nantes Tri Continent Film Festival to be held in France from November 21 to 29. The company restored DB Nihalsinha’s Welikatala (1971) and Prasanna Vithanaj’s Akatha Kusum (2008) for the festival, which celebrates Asian, African and Latin American films.
Kavita Prasad, Managing Director of Prasad Corporation, said: “It is always an honor when films from our region are given a new lease of life and reach new audiences across the world.” “Sri Lanka’s film heritage is rich, nuanced and deeply human.”
Founded in 1956 by film director LV Prasad, the company has produced over 30,000 films over 60 years. The post-production house operates facilities in India, the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, and Saudi Arabia, offering services such as 8K film restoration, digital intermediate work, HDR grading, and Dolby Atmos mixing.
