A special film festival titled ‘Bachchan Back To The Beginning’ will be held from October 8 to October 11 to mark the 80th birthday of veteran Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
The festival will celebrate the actor through his landmark early films across 17 Indian cities, covering 172 showcases and 30 screens across 22 cinema halls. The unique festival has been announced by Film Heritage Foundation in partnership with PVR Cinemas.
Film Heritage Foundation, founded by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, has curated a collection of 11 blockbuster films that gave birth to one of the biggest superstars of the nation who continues to shine as brightly over 50 years since his debut on the silver screen.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation said in a statement: “Growing up, I was the biggest Amitabh Bachchan fan. I used to break bounds when I was in school to watch his films and was often thrown out of class in college for sitting in the back benches and writing notes about his films. I am so glad that the Film Heritage Foundation is paying tribute to Mr Bachchan on his 80th birthday with the first-of-its-kind country-wide four-day festival.”
Bachchan shared his thoughts about this celebration. He said: “I didn’t think that I would see a day that all these films from my early career would be back on the big screen across the country. It is a remarkable initiative of Film Heritage Foundation and PVR to showcase not just my work, but the work of my directors, fellow actors and technicians of the time who made these films possible. It brings back an era that is gone, but not forgotten. This is why saving India’s film heritage is so important. I hope that this is just the beginning of many festivals that will celebrate landmark films of Indian cinema back on the big screen.”
The showcase will cover cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Raipur, Kanpur, Kolhapur, Prayagraj and Indore and will screen films such as ‘Don’, ‘Kaala Patthar’, ‘Kaalia’, ‘Kabhie Kabhie’, ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’, ‘Namak Halaal’, ‘Abhimaan’, ‘Deewar’, ‘Mili’, ‘Satte Pe Satta’ and ‘Chupke Chupke’.
To coincide with the film festival, Film Heritage Foundation that is dedicated to the preservation, restoration, documentation and exhibition of India’s film heritage will also set up an exhibition of rare Amitabh Bachchan memorabilia at PVR Juhu in Mumbai.
The narrative of the exhibition will be told through arresting framed visuals, celebrating decades of success, fandom and accolades. The exhibition, curated by film historian, author and archivist SMM Ausaja, will entail a diverse and carefully curated collection of memorabilia, including rare vintage posters, commissioned artworks, photographs, LP jackets, magazine covers, a giant 7 feet standee and the original Shahenshah costume.
