Venice Film Festival to screen restored 'Do Bigha Zamin'
What's the story
The 2025 Venice Film Festival will feature a 4K restored version of Bimal Roy's iconic film Do Bigha Zamin, reported PTI. The announcement comes on the occasion of the legendary director's 116th birth anniversary. The movie will be shown under the Venice Classics section and is among several restored films, including Pedro Almodóvar's Matador and Stanley Kubrick's Lolita.
Presentation details
Roy's children to present the screening
The screening of the restored version will be presented by Roy's children, Aparajita Roy Sinha, Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, and Joy Bimal Roy. They will be joined by the director of the Film Heritage Foundation, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. The restoration has been a joint operation of the Film Heritage Foundation, The Criterion Collection, and Janus Films.
Film's impact
Gulzar called the film historic
Lyricist and filmmaker Gulzar called the film "historic," saying it changed how films were made in India. He said in a statement, "Do Bigha Zamin is from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, which was also called Dui Bigha Jomi. The script was done by Salil Choudhury." "The most important element is that all his films, right from the Bengali ones which he made and the Hindi films which he made, all these films were based on literature."
Restoration details
Restoration took over 3 years
The restoration process, which began in 2022, took over three years. It was a long process which involved extensive repair of damaged negatives that were stored at the National Film Archive of India. The rest of the missing elements were sourced from a 1954-55 dupe negative kept at the British Film Institute.
Film's accolades
It won honors at several international film festivals
Do Bigha Zamin was the first Indian movie to win the Prix International in 1954 at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won the best director and best film at the inaugural Filmfare Awards. The 82nd Venice International Film Festival will be held from August 27 to September 6. The movie stars Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, and Meena Kumari.