Indian cinema has preserved some films that feel less like movies and more like pieces of history. Among them is Pakeezah, Kamal Amrohi’s 1972 classic starring Meena Kumari, a film remembered for its elaborate sets, music, Urdu-inflected dialogue and Kumari’s haunting performance as Sahibjaan.
More than five decades after its release, Pakeezah is getting another chance on the big screen. But this time, it is not a new sequel or remake. It is the original film, painstakingly restored in 4K after its surviving film material had suffered serious deterioration.
The restoration was led by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and the Film Heritage Foundation. The restored film will first premiere at the Festival Lumière in Lyon, France, before travelling to the UK for a gala screening at the BFI London Film Festival.
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So, Who Is Shivendra Singh Dungarpur?
Dungarpur is a filmmaker, producer, archivist and the founder-director of the Film Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation he established in 2014 to preserve India’s cinematic heritage.
His interest in film preservation is not limited to Pakeezah. His documentary Celluloid Man, about India’s film archivist P. K. Nair, won two National Awards. He has also worked on several film restoration projects and has been involved with international film preservation organisations.
For Dungarpur, Pakeezah was also personal.
He first watched the film as a child with his grandmother in a cinema in Dumraon, Bihar. Years later, when he entered the world of film restoration, bringing Pakeezah back to its original visual quality became a long-held ambition.
What Challenges Were Faced During The Restoration?
The restoration began with a major problem.
When Dungarpur and his team inspected the original camera negative at Ramnord Lab in 2024, they found that it had almost melted and could not be used for restoration.
The surviving material was also in poor condition. It had faded colours, scratches, mould and other signs of deterioration.
So the team had to reconstruct the film from different surviving sources.
They collected an interpositive and a CinemaScope print from the lab. They also accessed a colour reversal internegative preserved by the NFDC-National Film Archive of India. The BFI confirms that the restored 4K version was created at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory using the surviving 35mm material.
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How Do You Restore A Film When The Original Negative Is Gone?
This was where the project became more than simply cleaning up an old print.
The team had to work out what the film originally looked like.
They found original photographs and film stills that helped them understand the intended colours and visual details. Dungarpur also consulted Kamal Amrohi’s children, Tajdar and Rukhsaar Amrohi, who had visited the sets while the film was being made.
One example was Meena Kumari’s costume in the song Inhi Logon Ne. The restoration team repeatedly showed the images to Rukhsaar Amrohi to make sure the colour was as close as possible to what she remembered from the original production.
The team also worked to remove dirt, scratches, mould and colour fluctuations while keeping the different surviving film sources visually consistent.
The sound was restored in 5.1 using the sound negative and a release print.
The entire restoration took two years.
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The Making Of Pakeezah
The film’s troubled production makes its restoration even more significant.
Amrohi began making Pakeezah in 1956. It started as a black-and-white project before shifting to Eastmancolor in 1958.
Production continued for around 15 years, with script changes, casting changes, elaborate sets, financial pressures and long delays.
In 1964, Amrohi and Meena Kumari separated after personal differences, and production stalled.
Kumari was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis in 1968. The film remained unfinished until actors Sunil Dutt and Nargis watched the existing footage and encouraged her to complete it. Shooting resumed in 1969.
The production also lost two key collaborators. Cinematographer Josef Wirsching died in 1967, after which several leading Indian cinematographers helped complete the film while trying to maintain his visual style. Composer Ghulam Mohammed died in 1968 after composing the film’s songs, with Naushad completing the background score.
Pakeezah finally reached theatres on 4 February 1972.
Meena Kumari died on 31 March, only weeks after the release. The film subsequently became a box-office success and cemented its place in Indian cinema.
What Is Pakeezah About?
Set against the courtly world of Lucknow’s nawabs, Pakeezah follows Sahibjaan, played by Meena Kumari, a courtesan who longs for love and dignity.
Her life changes after a forest officer named Salim encounters her while she is asleep in a train compartment. He leaves her a note praising her beauty without knowing who she is.
Their paths cross again and the two fall in love. But Sahibjaan’s identity and the social stigma surrounding her profession create barriers between them.
The film runs for 153 minutes and was shot in colour, with Urdu as its primary language and English subtitles for the restored international presentation.
From A Mumbai Classic To The Global Stage
The restored Pakeezah will have its world premiere at Festival Lumière in Lyon in October 2026.
It will then travel to London for a UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival, where the restored film will be presented at a gala screening at the BFI IMAX.
Dungarpur will present the London screening alongside Tajdar and Rukhsaar Amrohi, the son and daughter of Kamal Amrohi.
For a film whose original negative was almost lost, the journey is striking. But the restoration is ultimately about more than making an old movie look sharper.
It is about making sure that a major piece of Indian cinema can still be seen as it was intended, by audiences who were not even born when Pakeezah first reached theatres.
And now, more than half a century later, Sahibjaan is getting another big-screen life.
TL;DR | News At a Glance
Why is Pakeezah in the news?
Meena Kumari and Kamal Amrohi’s 1972 classic has received a two-year 4K restoration.
Who restored Pakeezah?
The Film Heritage Foundation, led by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, restored the film in association with the Amrohi family.
Why was restoration difficult?
The original camera negative had almost melted and could not be used. The team relied on surviving film elements, archival photographs and memories from Amrohi’s children.
Where will the restored film premiere?
It will have its world premiere at Festival Lumière in Lyon, France, followed by its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
What is Pakeezah about?
The film follows Sahibjaan, a courtesan played by Meena Kumari, and her struggle to find love and dignity despite social stigma.
When was Pakeezah released?
It was released on 4 February 1972. Meena Kumari died on 31 March 1972.
