A 4K restored version of the Meena Kumari-starrer 1972 classic Pakeezah is set to have its world premiere at the Festival Lumiere in Lyon, France, and the BFI London Film Festival. The ambitious restoration of the movie, directed

Following its premiere in France, the film will travel to London for a high-profile gala screening at the BFI IMAX. This screening will be presented to international audiences, marking a major milestone for classic Indian cinema preservation on the global stage over the past 12 months.

A Long-Held Childhood Dream Realized

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation stated that restoring Pakeezah has been a long-held dream ever since he first saw the movie as a child with his grandmother in a cinema hall in Dumraon, Bihar. He thanked Bilal for being the moving spirit behind the extensive restoration work.

Detailing the complex technical hurdles, Dungarpur noted in a statement that the restoration of Pakeezah took two years. He called it one of the most exciting yet challenging restorations he has ever worked on. When he went to inspect the original camera negative and saw that it had almost melted, his heart sank.

The other film elements available for the project were also in poor condition, featuring faded colours, deep scratches, and mould. Dungarpur wondered how he would be able to restore Kamal Amrohi's original vision with what he had to work with, describing the immense difficulty of the archival salvage operation.

Uncovering Lost Stills and Family Memories

During their thorough research, the Film Heritage Foundation team discovered original film stills that played a crucial role in guiding the restoration process. Dungarpur also consulted Kamal Amrohi's children, son Tajdar Amrohi and daughter Rukhsaar Amrohi, who had visited the sets as children and retained vivid memories from the making of the film.

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Dungarpur expressed gratitude for the venue, stating that he couldn't have asked for a better showcase for the restored Pakeezah than the Festival Lumiere in Lyon, the birthplace of cinema. This adds to FHF's impressive streak of placing a restored classic at every major global film festival over the past year, including Berlin with In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, Cannes with Amma Ariyan, and Venice with English, August.

Family Reflections on a Cinematic Obsession

Tajdar Amrohi fondly recalled memories of attending the grand premiere of the movie in 1972 with his father and Choti Ammi, as Meena Kumari was affectionately known, when the film cans arrived at Maratha Mandir in a palanquin. He shared that he never imagined he would be presenting the restored film with his family at the gala premiere in London fifty-four years later.

Expressing deep gratitude, Tajdar thanked Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and the Film Heritage Foundation for restoring the film with so much passion and meticulous care. He praised them for bringing his father and his greatest work back to life so that new generations can see the unforgettable Meena Kumari and enjoy the beauty of the film.

Recalling his childhood, Tajdar added that his father was deep into the making of Pakeezah and everything in their lives revolved around it. His father had put everything he had into the film, and whenever the children asked him for anything, his standard response would always be, "After Pakeezah." Tajdar emphasized that Pakeezah was his father's life mission, remembering his set visits on Floor No.

3 at Filmistan where most of the film was shot.

Rukhsaar Amrohi described Pakeezah as her father's obsession, dream, and oxygen that gave true meaning to his life. She stated that no one else could have played the role of Pakeezah except Choti Ammi, who was the very embodiment of the character, noting that her father nurtured the film for over fifteen years like a child.

Production Struggles and Tragic Timeline

Conceptualized in the mid-1950s as a tribute to the beauty of Amrohi's wife and muse, Meena Kumari, the project spent a gruelling 15 years in production hell. Filming originally began in black-and-white in 1956 before shifting to Eastmancolor in 1958.

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The story of Pakeezah is set during the twilight era of nawabs in Lucknow, with Meena Kumari playing the dual roles of the courtesan Nargis and her daughter Sahibjaan. Production went through severe hurdles due to casting shifts, script revisions, and Amrohi's obsessive perfectionism, while a studio fire also destroyed a portion of the original black-and-white negatives.

Work on the film stalled completely as a result of these compounding tragedies, during which Meena Kumari descended into severe alcoholism and was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in 1968. The project was only revived when Sunil Dutt and Nargis saw the existing footage in 1969 and convinced the ailing Kumari to complete her life's work.

Pakeezah finally released in theatres on February 4, 1972. Tragically, Meena Kumari passed away shortly after on March 31, 1972, sealing the film's legacy as her ultimate cinematic farewell.