When it premiered at the Majestic theatre in Bombay in 1931, the film Alam Ara became a sensation. Huge crowds gathered outside cinemas exhibiting it and shows were sold out. Directed by Ardeshir Irani and starring actors Zubeida, Master Vithal and Jillo, it was the first Indian talkie and had a soundtrack featuring songs aplenty. The plot was very basic, essentially a tale of palace intrigue that revolved around rival queens. But the novelty of it all had crowds lapping it up and the film quickly turned into a blockbuster.
Today, however, not a single copy of the historic film exists. Search for it online and you will only find a still image of the beautiful Zubeida lying in Vithal’s arms, in what perhaps was a racy costume for the time. It is one of the few stills left of the groundbreaking production. Everything else has been lost for good.
Like Alam Ara, many famous Indian films no longer have a single print in existence. They include the first India-made colour film Kisan Kanya (1937), Bhakta Vidur (1921), Balidan (1927), Seeta (1934), and Zindagi (1940).
The overall numbers make for even more dismal reading: only 29 of the 1,338 silent films made in India survive, says filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, founder of the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and archiving India’s cinematic heritage. Of the more than 2,000 films made in Bombay between 1931 and 1950, 80% are unavailable for viewing, he added, citing P.K. Nair, founder of the National Film Archive of India.
But all is not lost. Today, a handful of organizations are working hard to preserve India’s cinematic legacy. They include FHF, Ultra Media and Entertainment Group, Prasad Corporation, NH Studioz, and media and entertainment company Shemaroo Entertainment.
What they’re doing
Dungarpur’s FHF has made 4K versions of classics that are premiered at international festivals and released in collaboration with multiplex chains across the country. The foundation is working towards the acquisition, collection and documentation of a number of films and film-related material and has undertaken restoration of movies such as Kaagaz Ke Phool, Kalpana, Ghatashraddha, and In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (featuring Arundhati Roy and Shah Rukh Khan).
Prasad Corporation recently completed the 4K restoration of 16 films by filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak in collaboration with the National Film Development Corporation and the National Film Archive of India.
Shemaroo Entertainment restores films in formats such as 4K and HD. In the past, it has worked on titles such as Mera Gaon, Mera Desh, and Deewar. The company did not respond to Mint’s queries.
NH Studioz specializes in content acquisition and distribution and has undertaken digitization, remastering and, where technically and commercially feasible, restoration of old films.
The process typically begins with identifying the best available film elements, followed by digital scanning, picture and sound enhancement, quality control, and the creation of modern deliverables such as 4K masters, subtitles and platform-ready versions.
“Our objective is not only to preserve films technically, but also to preserve their accessibility,” says Narendra Hirawat, chairman, NH Studioz. “Depending on the title, we make these films available through theatres, television, OTT platforms, FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels and YouTube, ensuring they continue to reach both existing fans and younger audiences.”
No mean feat
However, such strategies do not come without challenges. Companies such as NH Studioz and Prasad Corporation point out that film preservation is a collaborative effort involving digital laboratories, post-production facilities, audio specialists, subtitling and localization teams, quality control experts and technology partners.
Hirawat says the greatest challenge is often the condition of the original source materials. Many older films have damaged negatives, faded colours, scratches, deteriorated sound or missing elements. In some cases, original materials no longer exist, which naturally limits the extent of restoration that can be achieved.
Every project presents a different set of challenges, says Hirawat. The investment depends on the condition of the materials, the level of restoration required, and the formats needed for today's platforms. Beyond picture and sound enhancement, preparing a film for modern audiences also involves subtitling, localization, quality control and creating multiple delivery formats. “Each project therefore requires balancing cultural value, technical feasibility and commercial sustainability,” he adds.
Restoration costs can range from ₹40 lakh to ₹1 crore, depending on the length of the film and the quality of prints and sound. On top of that come expenses on marketing and promotional campaigns in case the theatrical re-release of the films has to be publicized across digital and print media.
According to film trade experts, given the limited audience base for these films, box office earnings for titles such as Pyaasa, Aar Paar, Chaudhvin Ka Chand, Mr & Mrs 55, Baaz, Aradhana and Satyajit Ray’s Nayak, which were among others screened as part of retrospectives recently, have remained limited to ₹4-5 lakh.
Agreeing that the challenges are significant, Abhishek Prasad, director and chief technology officer at Prasad Corporation, says restoration is as much about research and historical accuracy as it is about technology. Costs can vary considerably, depending on the condition of the material and the extent of restoration required.
A relatively straightforward project may be completed at a modest cost, while a severely damaged film requiring frame-by-frame restoration can involve substantial investment. “However, when viewed as the preservation of cultural heritage, the value often extends far beyond the financial commitment,” Prasad says.
Not getting physical
Arpit Jain makes for a disgruntled movie buff in 2026 despite the abundance of content around him. An avid collector of video cassettes, then DVDs and Blu-rays growing up, his personal library at home hasn’t seen an addition since the pandemic, when he bought a Blu-ray of the 1999 Aamir Khan-starrer Sarfarosh.
“The absence of physical copies has been a massive loss to cinema’s archival value,” says Jain. “Today, I can’t access a film in its original form in most cases. Either the prints don’t stream in the correct specifications or they get butchered along the way. Or in some peculiar cases, get lost entirely.”
Streaming platforms aren’t really helping. They were meant to democratise and ease access to film and long-form content across languages, genres and ages for movie buffs. However, that has not quite played out as expected.
There is no ‘physical’ or actual ownership of film content possible anymore and access to many movies depends on the whims of video-streaming or over-the-top (OTT) platforms and how long they choose to stream them, if they do at all.
Several movies, especially old and rare titles, aren’t available on any platform at all, and fans like Jain are lucky if obscure, low-quality prints can be accessed on YouTube.
Unlike in the US, where a company such as Criterion specializes in licensing, restoring and distributing home entertainment across various formats, including Blu-ray and DVD, no such options exist in India.
This is why unlike the resurgence in vinyl records, driven by the need for a tactile experience and richer sound quality in the past few years, the film and visual medium is yet to see a similar revival of DVDs or Blu-rays.
“In India, we consume cinema as a form of entertainment whereas in a lot of countries—in Europe, for example—the art is prevalent which is why you still get Blu-rays,” says Dungarpur.
Further, many independent, old or small-time producers have failed to sell rights to their films since they aren’t well-versed with distribution or syndication deal dynamics, resulting in the complete loss of multiple film prints, many of which were never remastered or digitized.
The OTT conundrum
OTTs, struggling with budget cuts and limited success with subscriptions and advertising in India, no longer prioritise films lacking mainstream appeal.
OTTs and multiplex chains are driven by revenue and there isn’t really a curator, programmer or decision-maker who can help rare or independent films get space, says Vinayak Bhat, founder, Bangalore Film Forum. “In that sense, they have failed independent cinema, which needs time and word-of-mouth to grow.” In fact, over the previous 50-100 years, it is arthouse theatres, clubs and counter-culture platforms that have preserved and provided a home to such films, he adds.
The shift from physical collections to streaming has also transformed the way audiences consume cinema. Today, viewers have access to more content than ever before, at the touch of a button. However, convenience comes with certain trade-offs. Unlike DVDs or film collections, streaming libraries are shaped by licensing agreements, which means films can disappear from platforms without notice.
Industry experts also point out that even when they are available to stream, discovering old or rare cinema on platforms can be challenging due to algorithms prioritising popular and trending content. “Discoverability remains one of the biggest challenges in the digital era. Recommendation algorithms are primarily designed to connect audiences with content they are most likely to watch based on viewing behaviour,” says Hirawat of NH Studioz. “While this improves the user experience, it can sometimes make older or niche films less visible unless viewers actively search for them.”
Prasad concurs. “On the one hand, digital platforms have dramatically expanded access to films from around the world. On the other, the sheer volume of content means that many significant works can easily get lost in the crowd,” he says. Algorithms are designed to recommend what is likely to keep audiences engaged, not necessarily what is historically or culturally important, Prasad adds.
So, between unpredictable access to digital versions and none at all to hard copies, things are worrisome as far as preserving India’s film legacy goes.
Keeping the legacy alive
To be sure, there is some effort to offer alternatives—film clubs across top metros actively organise screenings of older and rare titles where small groups of 30–40 people can assemble at a time.
Bhat’s Bangalore Film Forum regularly organizes such screenings. Recently, it showcased French-Greek co-production The Photograph (1986) and Hong Kong horror film The Boxer’s Omen (1983). He started the forum five years ago in his home and soon moved screenings to the Untitled Arts Foundation, a cultural living room in the city.
However, the challenges for curators and programmers operating on a smaller scale, as Bhat does, are aplenty. To begin with, prints are hard to find and while some can be procured from archives, producers, distributors or cultural institutes, some film club owners that Mint spoke to admitted having to either screen movies off YouTube or download pirated versions.
Further, the costs of maintaining websites, venue rentals and licensing expenses aren’t always covered by the ticket fee, which hovers between ₹150 to ₹200 per person. “We do as much as we can but we don’t get anything financially,” Bhat says.
Monetization remains a challenge—many such film screenings witness sparse attendance.
Dungarpur, however, believes that there is space for old and rare films to be discovered in theatres is proven by the number of people below the age of 25 who flock to their screenings. The younger generation, he believes, will keep the torch of India’s film legacy burning bright.
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