The restored 4K version of Do Bigha Zameen (1953), directed by Bimal Roy, will have its world premiere at the 2025 Venice Film Festival. The announcement was made on Bimal Roy’s 116th birth anniversary.
This revival was led by the Film Heritage Foundation in partnership with The Criterion Collection and Janus Films. Members of the Roy family – including daughters Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, Aparajita Roy Sinha and son Joy Bimal Roy – will be present at the festival along with Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
“Do Bigha Zameen” is considered a milestone in Indian cinema. It was the first Indian film to win the Prix International at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. The film also received recognition at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won Best Film and Best Director awards at the first Filmfare Awards in India.
The restoration process began in 2022 and took more than three years to complete. Original negatives from the National Film Archives of India and the British Film Institute were used for the restoration of the film.
Gulzar, who started his film career by assisting Bimal Roy during the making of the film Kabuliwala in 1961, said in a press note, “The most important element is that all his films – from the Bengali films that he made and the Hindi films that he made, all these films were based on literature. Very few people know that ‘Do Bigha Zameen’ is from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, also known as ‘Do Bigha Zameen’ The screenplay was written by Salil Chaudhary.
Inspired by Vittorio De Sica’s film “Bicycle Thieves”, the film tells the story of a poor farmer who moves to the city with his son in order to save his land. The film is known for its realistic portrayal of urban poverty and rural displacement and Balraj Sahni’s critically acclaimed acting.
Bimal Roy, one of India’s most important filmmakers, was known for combining powerful social themes with poetic storytelling. His work helped shape the golden age of Indian cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1966 at the age of 56.