10 Satyajit Ray films to be restored under India’s National Film Heritage Mission

India, whose cinema history goes back more than a century, has decided to undertake the world's largest film restoration project under National Film Heritage Mission. The authorities have decided to include ten films by maestro Satyajit Ray in this project.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur said INR 363 crore would be utilised exclusively for restoration purpose.

National Film Archives of India undertook the restoration of 10 Satyajit Ray films which will be subsequently showcased at various international film festivals. Out of them, his 1970 movie "Pratidwandi," whose negative was damaged, has been restored.

Restored version of G Aravindan's 1978 Malayalam film "Thampi", which will be showcased at Restoration World Premieres in Cannes by Film Heritage Foundation, is also being collaborated for preservation with NFAI.

Besides Ray films, feature films as diverse as "Neelakuyil" (Malayalam) and 'Do Aakhein Barah Haath' (Hindi) will also be covered.

The process involves frame-to-frame digital and semi-automated manual pictures, and sound restoration from the best surviving source material. The numerous pops, hisses, crackles, and distortions on the sound negative of the films will be digitally removed, Information Ministry officials said.

After restoration, the digital picture files will be colour graded and balanced to achieve the look of the film at the time of the original release, they added.

Nearly 2,200 films will undergo the process of restoration under the National Film Heritage Mission. The titles have been shortlisted language-wise by committees consisting of filmmakers, documentary filmmakers, film historians, and producers. Eminent film personalities like Aparna Sen, Shriram Raghavan, Anjali Menon, and Vetrimaaran were part of the committees.

According to an Indian newspaper, National Film Heritage Mission, in addition to restoration, also involves the ongoing preservation processes of film condition assessment, preventive conservation, and digitisation. A total budget of INR 597 crores has been allotted for this initiative.