With changing technology, the Indian film industry is goingthrough a transformation which may soon prove to be one of the best things thathave happened to the Indian cinema. Garam Hava, a film that raked inappreciation and critical acclaim in 1973, has been fully restored and slatedfor a theatrical release on January 18, 2013.
Subhash Chheda, Director Indikino Entertainment says, “Thisis one of the first examples where along with the visual frames, we haverestored the audio and sound too. In Mughal e Azam, the audio was recreatedbecause of which the original soundtrack and the original voices are notavailable. Along with the main issue of partition that happened in 1947, GaramHava also dealt with other issues such as unemployment, poverty and corruption.We have many such Indian classics which deal with social issues that are valid intoday’s world as well. They have to be restored to make sure we do not lose ourtreasure of classics and the pride of Indian cinema.”
The restoration process took two years to complete. Theoriginal film was in bad shape and the entire process demanded a lot of timeand money, equivalent to make a new film. But the team felt it was imperativeto make an effort to give rebirth to this masterpiece in order to make way forother classics which need to be restored.
Bhavesh Thakkar, Chief Strategy Director “ Marketing andDistribution, Indikino Edutainment, has a strong connecton with Bollywood andHollywood films. He says, “Restoration brings in a lot of royalty and value tocinema. We want to convey through our marketing strategies that an entertainingfilm with valuable content with some of the biggest actors who have performedbrilliantly has the potential to compete with current mainstream cinema. Whenwe talk about commercial business, the responsibility is to make profits. It isimportant to come up with proper thought process to make it commerciallyviable. The idea is to have visibility all across media vertical to bring inaudience to the theatres.”
So is there a risk involved when dealing with a restorationproject which involves a big budget? Bhavesh nods in agreement, “It is aparallel learning process. There is always a risk when dealing with technology.But we were always willing to risk because the content is so strong. Films withbig star value and budget definitely have an edge but proven content from thatera is a strong contender. If you observe the trend, a lot of content basedfilms are doing well at the box office. I don’t know how films were marketedthen, but after watching these films I now know how they have to be marketed inthis day and age.”
According to Bhavesh, restoration also opens lot of avenuesin terms of monetising the content. Satellite rights are one of the mostimportant sources of revenue. Very few classic milestone films are available onsatellite channels. There is a dedicated segment audience which demands suchcinema, which needs to be tapped.
