Films from a bygone era are getting a new lease of life in restored, 4K resolution. It’s introducing a new generation of audiences to cinematic legends, but it’s also having another, more unexpected benefit: It’s bringing families closer.
Imagine a grandfather and his granddaughter watching the 1957 classic Pyaasa . The child, a product of the new millennium, appreciates the picturisation of dream sequences. Meanwhile, the older gent is happy that a cherished memory from his youth can be shared with someone so close to him. And just like that, the two, generations apart, have something to bond over as they leave the theatre.
This is a common experience for many Indians in recent months, as several old classics in many regional languages are being re-released in theatres following 4K restoration. Films such as Awaara (1951), Silsila (1981), Umrao Jaan (1981), Chandni (1989), Samrajyam (1990), Ravanaprabhu (2001) and Varsham (2004) have all had theatrical re-releases and industry observers say there is a lineup of at least six more films undergoing restoration. These include Pakeezah (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974) and Shiva (1989).
“Film restoration has two benefits: One is preservation, where you restore a valuable piece of film, but that may not make money even after a theatrical release. And second, you restore a classic like Sholay , which is likely to be a commercial success too. This differentiation of films is key,” said Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, founder and director of Film Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit focused on restoration.
The organisation, in association with director Martin Scorsese’s film restoration company, The Film Foundation brought Uday Shankar’s Kalpana (1948) back to life in 2012 — the first Indian film to be restored in 4K.
Need of the hour
At a time when mainstream cinema may feel too violent or over-the-top, audiences are craving the simplicity of stories and depth of performances from another era. Meanwhile, a different set of viewers appreciate the grand expanse of a visually clear classic on 70mm film. The re-released masterpieces thus offer something to everyone, creating a celebratory environment where two sections of viewers appreciate old classics in their own unique ways.
This wave of restorations can also be attributed to increased and improved access to mobile streaming. “In the past few years, people have become used to a certain quality of content which they consume on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, etc,” explained Hiren Gada, CEO of Shemaroo Entertainment.
If anything, streamers and platforms prefer not to accept films that aren’t in 4K anymore. “Rights holders of old films in 4K have an advantage over rights holders of the same films in non4K version, because avenues for monetising films are limited for the latter,” said Sushil Kumar Agrawal, CEO of Ultra Media and Entertainment Group.
Pandemic boom
This trend gathered momentum during the pandemic. With millions of people locked down at home and the pipeline of new films firmly turned off, restored films became a lifeline. “During Covid, there was no new content. It was a steady supply of old films in 4K that entertained audiences,” said Kavita Prasad, managing director of Prasad Corporation, one of the oldest film laboratories in India.
Even post-lockdown, in the early phase, film festivals honouring legendary actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and A Nageshwar Rao — organised by The Film Heritage Foundationin collaboration with rights holders of these films — helped revive footfalls in theatres. “The Amitabh Bachchan Film Festival in October 2022, which showed 11 of his films, was a phenomenal success. It did two things: It brought people back to cinema halls and showed the success of old classics,” Dungarpur said. “It then culminated with the release of 4K versions of the Telugu film icon A Nageshwar Rao’s movies on his birth centenary in September last year.”
Poor box-office performance of new Hindi films in the past few years has also hastened the trend. “Today, most new films don’t run beyond a week or 15 days. Multiplexes with multiple screens need content. This need is being fulfilled by old classics in 4K. In the South, this trend has caught on quite a bit, thanks to the loyal fan bases of actors,” Prasad added.
And then, there are producers who look at it as a form of reviving cultural memories and reliving nostalgia. “Nostalgia has value and it always sells. The 4K restoration movement marks a turning point for Indian cinema. It is about reviving our cultural memory for a new generation of audiences. It also provides today’s audiences with opportunities to experience the same grandeur and emotion that once defined the golden age of Hindi cinema,” explained Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder and director of Karmic Films.
Talking business
This has also triggered a natural question among industry observers: Will it be a fleeting trend or does it make long-term business sense? One key advantage of restoring old films is the cost. According to leading film laboratories, restoring an old film in 4K costs about Rs 20 to 60 lakh depending on the condition of the original source material. “The cost of restoring old films is less thanmaking a new one. One would have to invest at least ?10 to 50 crore to make a new film. And restoring an old film not only costs less, but also saves on marketing costs. Moreover, these films have already been made and were proven to have an appeal among audiences,” Prasad added.
But not all old classic films (especially Hindi) restored in 4K have met with success. “We restored a bunch of Guru Dutt films, but only some of them worked out commercially. There were no takers for Baaz (1953), but Pyaasa worked,” shared Agrawal.
So, rights holders of these old films have been forming portfolios of 10-15 restored movies and then gauging their long-term performance, instead of assessing individual restored works. “A portfolio of old films restored in 4K can easily provide an internal rate of return (annual return) of at least 20% in the next three to five years post-restoration,” Gada added . Companies in the business of film restoration also point out that 4K films provide premium advertising rates on connected TVs (CTV) and YouTube. It is estimated that the number of CTVs in India may exceed 65 million by 2025, amounting to 30% of TV households.
“Restoration is a one-time exercise. It increases a film’s reach significantly. A film’s rights holder can monetise it on more, bigger or better screens, targeting premium audiences,” Gada said. “A 4K film on CTVs can easily fetch premium advertising rates, as it is targeted specifically at premium viewers who prefer superior visual quality.”
At present, on average, at least 10% of libraries of aggregators have been restored in 4K, including other stages of upgradation in visual format. Overall, these aggregators have restored 80-90% of their libraries in HD formats. And in the coming years, the restoration of films in 4K is likely to increase even further, given the available avenues for monetisation. Industry observers believe that a lack of clarity regarding the lineup of new Hindi films for next year may also work in favour of restored films.
Experts also assert that classics will have takers even 20 years later. “A classic film, which has popular appeal, can provide a 300-400% profit when monetised through theatrical and non-theatrical ways,” explained Koushik Bhattacharya, founder of Quality Matters, a company focused on film restoration. “Genuine classics have better stories that are highly engaging. People relate to these and want to see them in a better proposition, like in 4K.”
What is a 4K film?
4K is the display resolution of a screen. A 4K film refers to the size of the screen horizontally and vertically in terms of pixels. Typically, a 4K film would have the following format: 4,096 pixels (horizontal) by 2,160 pixels (vertical).
Imagine a grandfather and his granddaughter watching the 1957 classic Pyaasa . The child, a product of the new millennium, appreciates the picturisation of dream sequences. Meanwhile, the older gent is happy that a cherished memory from his youth can be shared with someone so close to him. And just like that, the two, generations apart, have something to bond over as they leave the theatre.
This is a common experience for many Indians in recent months, as several old classics in many regional languages are being re-released in theatres following 4K restoration. Films such as Awaara (1951), Silsila (1981), Umrao Jaan (1981), Chandni (1989), Samrajyam (1990), Ravanaprabhu (2001) and Varsham (2004) have all had theatrical re-releases and industry observers say there is a lineup of at least six more films undergoing restoration. These include Pakeezah (1972), The Godfather Part II (1974) and Shiva (1989).
“Film restoration has two benefits: One is preservation, where you restore a valuable piece of film, but that may not make money even after a theatrical release. And second, you restore a classic like Sholay , which is likely to be a commercial success too. This differentiation of films is key,” said Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, founder and director of Film Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit focused on restoration.
The organisation, in association with director Martin Scorsese’s film restoration company, The Film Foundation brought Uday Shankar’s Kalpana (1948) back to life in 2012 — the first Indian film to be restored in 4K.
Need of the hour
At a time when mainstream cinema may feel too violent or over-the-top, audiences are craving the simplicity of stories and depth of performances from another era. Meanwhile, a different set of viewers appreciate the grand expanse of a visually clear classic on 70mm film. The re-released masterpieces thus offer something to everyone, creating a celebratory environment where two sections of viewers appreciate old classics in their own unique ways.
This wave of restorations can also be attributed to increased and improved access to mobile streaming. “In the past few years, people have become used to a certain quality of content which they consume on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, etc,” explained Hiren Gada, CEO of Shemaroo Entertainment.
If anything, streamers and platforms prefer not to accept films that aren’t in 4K anymore. “Rights holders of old films in 4K have an advantage over rights holders of the same films in non4K version, because avenues for monetising films are limited for the latter,” said Sushil Kumar Agrawal, CEO of Ultra Media and Entertainment Group.
Pandemic boom
This trend gathered momentum during the pandemic. With millions of people locked down at home and the pipeline of new films firmly turned off, restored films became a lifeline. “During Covid, there was no new content. It was a steady supply of old films in 4K that entertained audiences,” said Kavita Prasad, managing director of Prasad Corporation, one of the oldest film laboratories in India.
Even post-lockdown, in the early phase, film festivals honouring legendary actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and A Nageshwar Rao — organised by The Film Heritage Foundationin collaboration with rights holders of these films — helped revive footfalls in theatres. “The Amitabh Bachchan Film Festival in October 2022, which showed 11 of his films, was a phenomenal success. It did two things: It brought people back to cinema halls and showed the success of old classics,” Dungarpur said. “It then culminated with the release of 4K versions of the Telugu film icon A Nageshwar Rao’s movies on his birth centenary in September last year.”
Poor box-office performance of new Hindi films in the past few years has also hastened the trend. “Today, most new films don’t run beyond a week or 15 days. Multiplexes with multiple screens need content. This need is being fulfilled by old classics in 4K. In the South, this trend has caught on quite a bit, thanks to the loyal fan bases of actors,” Prasad added.
And then, there are producers who look at it as a form of reviving cultural memories and reliving nostalgia. “Nostalgia has value and it always sells. The 4K restoration movement marks a turning point for Indian cinema. It is about reviving our cultural memory for a new generation of audiences. It also provides today’s audiences with opportunities to experience the same grandeur and emotion that once defined the golden age of Hindi cinema,” explained Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder and director of Karmic Films.
Talking business
This has also triggered a natural question among industry observers: Will it be a fleeting trend or does it make long-term business sense? One key advantage of restoring old films is the cost. According to leading film laboratories, restoring an old film in 4K costs about Rs 20 to 60 lakh depending on the condition of the original source material. “The cost of restoring old films is less thanmaking a new one. One would have to invest at least ?10 to 50 crore to make a new film. And restoring an old film not only costs less, but also saves on marketing costs. Moreover, these films have already been made and were proven to have an appeal among audiences,” Prasad added.
But not all old classic films (especially Hindi) restored in 4K have met with success. “We restored a bunch of Guru Dutt films, but only some of them worked out commercially. There were no takers for Baaz (1953), but Pyaasa worked,” shared Agrawal.
So, rights holders of these old films have been forming portfolios of 10-15 restored movies and then gauging their long-term performance, instead of assessing individual restored works. “A portfolio of old films restored in 4K can easily provide an internal rate of return (annual return) of at least 20% in the next three to five years post-restoration,” Gada added . Companies in the business of film restoration also point out that 4K films provide premium advertising rates on connected TVs (CTV) and YouTube. It is estimated that the number of CTVs in India may exceed 65 million by 2025, amounting to 30% of TV households.
“Restoration is a one-time exercise. It increases a film’s reach significantly. A film’s rights holder can monetise it on more, bigger or better screens, targeting premium audiences,” Gada said. “A 4K film on CTVs can easily fetch premium advertising rates, as it is targeted specifically at premium viewers who prefer superior visual quality.”
At present, on average, at least 10% of libraries of aggregators have been restored in 4K, including other stages of upgradation in visual format. Overall, these aggregators have restored 80-90% of their libraries in HD formats. And in the coming years, the restoration of films in 4K is likely to increase even further, given the available avenues for monetisation. Industry observers believe that a lack of clarity regarding the lineup of new Hindi films for next year may also work in favour of restored films.
Experts also assert that classics will have takers even 20 years later. “A classic film, which has popular appeal, can provide a 300-400% profit when monetised through theatrical and non-theatrical ways,” explained Koushik Bhattacharya, founder of Quality Matters, a company focused on film restoration. “Genuine classics have better stories that are highly engaging. People relate to these and want to see them in a better proposition, like in 4K.”
What is a 4K film?
4K is the display resolution of a screen. A 4K film refers to the size of the screen horizontally and vertically in terms of pixels. Typically, a 4K film would have the following format: 4,096 pixels (horizontal) by 2,160 pixels (vertical).
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