Thanks to dogged efforts of a film distributor and fan, Sivaji Ganesan’s magnum opus Karnan has been restored and will be released in screens across Tamil Nadu soon. The film is considered an important milestone not only in actor Sivaji Ganesan’s filmography but the history of Tamil films. With digital enhancements and restored audio to enable its screening in digital cinemas, the classic is all set to enthral mythology enthusiasts and film buffs almost 50 years after it was originally released in 1963.
Karnan is the first Tamil film, and the third in the country, to be digitally re-touched after Mughal-e-Azam (Hindi) and Mayabazar (Telugu). Its digital enhancement has taken about three years and a lot of effort and investment. The previous two digitalisations were also the result of private initiative. As the Indian film industry celebrates its centenary, on May 3 this year, it is time to take up the challenge of resurrecting and restoring Indian film classics in different languages for the new generation that has never had an opportunity to view them.
While we look to the West for inspiration and themes and technique, we don’t seem to be paying attention to our finest, most historically relevant films. Even Satyajit Ray’s ‘Apu Trilogy’ is only as spectacularly viewed as it is now because of a Criterion Collection restoration. A move by the Pune-based National Film Archives of India (NFAI) for digitisation and restoration of 440 Indian classics is a welcome initiative in this direction. The move has been prompted by the realisation that the original prints of several classics like Raja Harishchandra were beyond restoration. Hollywood has successfully managed to restore several cult movies like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Doctor Zivago, The Godfather and the Seven Samurai amongst others in recent times. Indian film industry and governments must follow its example.
