Film Heritage Foundation Announces The Dilip Kumar Film Festival

Fresh off the success ‘Bachchan Back To The Beginning’ festival, not-for-profit organization Film Heritage Foundation announces a unique film festival titled ‘Dilip Kumar Hero Of Heroes’ to mark the centenary celebrations of erstwhile film icon Dilip Kumar.

Slated to be hosted on the 10th and 11th of December 2022, the celebration will honour the icon through a bespoke showcase of his milestone films such as Aan (1952), Devdas (1955), Ram Aur Shyam (1967) and Shakti (1982) covering over 30 cinema halls in over 20 cities across India.

Audiences in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Pune, Bareilly, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Raipur, Indore, Surat, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad will get a first-hand experience of witnessing the sheer magnetism and versatility of one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema on the big screen through four of his landmark films over two days.

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Filmmaker, Archivist and Director, Film Heritage Foundation states, “Dilip Kumar turning 100! What an incredible opportunity to bring back one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema on the big screen. He truly is the “Hero of Heroes” as even today he is an actor that the biggest stars look up to. Film Heritage Foundation could think of no better way to celebrate this milestone than a festival of his films back in theatres. Even though some of these films were released nearly seventy years ago, the power of Dilip Kumar’s performances, his craft as a method actor and his charisma make him ageless. I was so excited thinking of how many of his films I could curate to mark the occasion. How did one choose for an actor with such an outstanding body of work? Little did I know then that I would have the opposite problem. I was shocked and heartbroken to discover that many of his great films survived only in low-resolution formats that could not be projected on the big screen. Was this the fate of a towering persona who had dominated the silver screen for so many years to be now confined to a small computer screen or a phone in danger of being forgotten in the years to come? I cobbled together these films with great difficulty with many people asking me why some of their favourite Dilip Kumar films were not included. How did one make them understand? I hope this will be a wake-up call to filmmakers and producers to realize that time is running out and that they should look into preserving their films before it is too late. I would like to thank PVR Cinemas, and especially Ajay Bijli for giving Film Heritage Foundation a platform to celebrate Indian classic cinema back on the big screen again.”

Saira Banu states, “I am so happy that Film Heritage Foundation is celebrating Dilip Sahab’s 100th birthday on December 11th this year by screening some of his most popular films in cinemas across India. They could not have chosen a more apt title to commemorate India’s greatest actor —- Dilip Kumar— Hero Of Heroes”. He was my favorite hero from the time I was 12 years old when I first saw him in “Aan” in Technicolor. It will be a joy to watch him back on the big screen, larger than life, like he has been in my life.”

Amitabh Bachchan states, “As Dilip Kumar turns 100, I am so glad that we at Film Heritage Foundation are celebrating his legacy with this festival of films in theatres that will showcase some of his memorable performances in the cinema. I would urge every film lover and contemporary actor who have not watched Dilip Kumar larger than life not to miss the incredible opportunity of watching this giant among actors back on the big screen. It will be a master class in acting. Even today I am learning every time I watch his films. Dilip Kumar was and is my idol. I am still to meet an actor who could match his faultless performance, his flawless diction and the intelligence and commitment he brought to his craft. His every spoken word was poetry and when he appeared on the screen, everything else was a blur. I had the privilege of sharing the screen with him just once and the experience was one I will cherish. I was deeply disturbed to hear that many of his films are not in a condition to be screened in cinemas and that is a tragedy. Film Heritage Foundation is working day and night to ensure that the work of legends like Dilip Kumar survives and is preserved and restored to be shown to new generations of audiences. I’d like to thank Ajay Bijli and the PVR Cinemas team for enabling us to bring classic cinema back to the big screen.”

Kamal Haasan states, “”Yousuf Sahab set an international bar for Indian actors to follow. Erudite, eloquent and excellent in his chosen field. Cinema can make people believe that those who have departed are still alive. In that context to me Dilip Kumar ji is one of the world’s best actors alive. It’s an incredible feat by the Film Heritage Foundation and I’m grateful to them for keeping my heritage alive.”

Film Heritage Foundation is a non-profit organization set up by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur in 2014. It is dedicated to supporting the conservation, preservation, and restoration of the moving image and to developing interdisciplinary programmes to create awareness about the language of cinema.