A session highlighting the importance of collecting, preserving and restoring classic cinema.
‘The Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy must focus on the preservation and restoration of old Kannada movies,’ said Aparna Subramanian, who is actively involved in film preservation and restoration work.
Speaking at the session titled ‘Collection, Preservation, and Restoration of Films’ held during the Bengaluru International Film Festival, she discussed the significance of archiving and reviving classic cinema.
‘After watching the old classic films screened at the festival, I realized that their quality is not adequate. In this regard, it is essential to collect and save old films. Generally, producers focus on generating profit rather than the preservation of the film. Consequently, the negative prints of many movies have deteriorated beyond repair. To prevent this, film preservation must take place on a large scale’ she stated.
Discussing the challenges of film preservation, she noted, ‘Restoring and preserving a single film requires at least ₹20 lakhs. Therefore, this is a very capital-intensive task. Government institutions must lead the way in this effort. In foreign countries, grants of up to $350 million are provided for this work, yet they feel it is insufficient. In our context, even a grant of one crore would not be enough.’
‘The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has preserved 5,000 films so far and the preservation of another 2,500 films is underway. I personally collected the Tamil film ‘Raktha Kanneer’ and handed it over to the National Film Archive of India,’ she shared.
Thanking the Film Academy for organizing a session on film preservation, she said, ‘Usually, film festivals focus solely on screenings. I am grateful for the opportunity provided here to speak about film preservation’ said Aparna
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