On Dev Anand's 100th birthday, watch these classics on big screen near you, read details inside

In honour of the legendary screen icon Dev Anand's 100th birthday on September 26, 2023, the National Film Development Corporation -National Film Archive of India and the Film Heritage Foundation, in partnership with PVR INOX, proudly introduced "Dev Anand @ 100 - Forever Youthful." – a weekend festival of four Dev Anand milestone films in cinemas in 30 cities and 55 cinemas across India on September 23 and24, 2023.

To truly pay homage to Dev Anand and honour his birth centenary, NFDC-NFAI embarked on an arduous journey of restoring the four classics of the charismatic actor in the 4K resolution.

This event is a weekend festival featuring a thoughtfully curated lineup, by FHF, of films, enabling audiences to spend a weekend with Dev Anand in his various unforgettable roles in C. I. D.(1956), Guide(1965), Jewel Thief(1967), and Johny Mera Naam(1970). The restoration of these films is being undertaken as part of the National Film Heritage Mission and funded by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. NFDC-NFAI hopes to showcase the appeal of Dev Anand to a new generation and rekindle the nostalgia of those who have cherished his work through these brand-new restorations.

The aforementioned film elements have been preserved in NFDC - NFAI's vaults for several decades in temperature and relative humidity-controlled environments. It is this long-term preservation of the landmark films that have made the new 4K restorations possible.

The films have been available in poor quality for years, and as of now are also not available on any OTT platforms in high resolution, let alone in 4K restored format. Keeping the centenary of Dev Anand in mind, NFDC-NFAI has been working on the restorations for the past several months where each and every frame is being restored meticulously where time-induced artefacts are digitally removed such as dust, dirt, splices, pinholes, tear and scratches. A 3-hour long movie has more than 2.5 lakh frames, which need to be worked upon. This is followed by colour grading, where concentrated efforts are put to tackle the issue of colour fading and make the film appear as vibrant looking as it was at the time of the release. Simultaneously the audio of the film is also being digitally restored. The final restoration would give the feeling to the audience as if the print is freshly processed and printed in a photochemical film lab.

"It is important for the public to witness Dev Anand on the big screen once again, and in a manner how he was viewed during his heyday decades ago. NFDC-NFAI is sparing no efforts to ensure these films are presented in the best way possible, as hundreds of restoration artists, technicians, graders, DOPs, sound engineers and archivists, spread across multiple cities, are hard at work to once again bring these films to life", MD NFDC, Prithul Kumar, on the importance of preserving and restoring Dev Anand's films.

He adds, "Showcasing the restoration of Dev Anand’s films on the occasion of his centenary, as a joint endeavor between both film archives, NFDC-National Film Archive of India and Film Heritage Foundation, along with our esteemed partners, INOX and PVR, is a testament to our shared commitment to preserving India's cinematic heritage. We aspire to sustain these collaborative efforts, to provide broader public access to the gems of Indian Cinema, in the quality they are meant to be seen."

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation said, “After the success of Film Heritage Foundation’s mega festivals “Bachchan Back to the Beginning” and “Dilip Kumar – Hero of Heroes” to commemorate Amitabh Bachchan’s 80 th birthday and Dilip Kumar’s birth centenary with screenings across the country, we knew that there was no way that we could allow the birth centenary of Dev Anand to go uncelebrated. We wanted to honor his legacy by screening four milestone films “CID”, “Guide”, “Jewel Thief” and “Johny Mera Naam”, in 30 cities across India. The films are among my personal favorites as I consider Goldie Anand one of the most stylish directors of Indian cinema. The festival also marks an important collaboration between Film Heritage Foundation and NFDC-NFAI who have restored the four films and partnered with us to enable us to showcase these films. The Gregory Peck of India, as Dev Anand was often called, continues to be a beloved star, and we are thrilled that contemporary audiences will have the opportunity to watch some of the films that made him an enduring legend of Indian cinema. This is another milestone in the Film Heritage Foundation’s journey to bring classics of Indian cinema to modern viewers because after all these films are a part of our history and culture and if we don’t know where we came from, we won’t know where we are going.”

As dissemination is one of its primary objectives, the NFDC-NFAI wanted these restorations to reach as wide an audience as possible. Hence, the archive collaborated with FHF to organize a curated festival of Dev Anand films at a scope hitherto unseen in India. NFDC-NFAI is especially thankful to PVR and INOX, for allowing them to leverage their screens to give country wide audiences a rare chance to revisit Dev Sahab on the big screen.

The NFDC-National Film Archive of India is committed to revitalizing classic cinema from the past by restoring and presenting it in stunning 4K quality. Numerous films are currently undergoing restoration, and audiences can anticipate many more such screenings in the coming days.

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