The restored 4K version of Bimal Roy's 1953 landmark film Do Bigha Zamin had its world premiere on September 4 in the prestigious Classics section of the Venice Film Festival. Seventy years after its release, Roy's masterpiece continues to hold a mirror to society with its blend of realism, empathy, and incisive social commentary.
The Venice screening was made even more special by the presence of 21 members of the Roy family, spanning three generations and ages ranging from 83 to 8. Led by Roy's children - Riniki Roy Bhattacharya, Aparajita Roy Sinha, and Joy Bimal Roy - the family travelled from across the world to attend the screening and celebrate the filmmaker's enduring legacy.
The premiere marks the culmination of a painstaking three-year restoration project undertaken by the Criterion Collection, Janus Films, and the Film Heritage Foundation. The original camera negative, preserved at the National Film Archive of India, was discovered to be badly damaged by mould, water, and torn frames, and was incomplete in parts. To address these challenges, the restoration team drew on a 35mm duplicate negative from the 1950s preserved at the British Film Institute, reconstructing missing sections such as the opening credits and final reel.
Despite being rooted in the India of the 1950s, Do Bigha Zamin continues to resonate with contemporary audiences. Themes of displacement, urban migration, and the chasm between rural and urban India remain strikingly relevant, asserting the film's timeless quality.
Film scholar Amrit Gangar notes that the film was not shot entirely on location in Calcutta, as is widely believed. Parts of it were filmed at Mohan Studio in Mumbai, where Bimal Roy's meticulous eye for detail often revealed itself in subtle ways. Gangar further adds that during rehearsals, for instance, he once asked Balraj Sahni, who played the farmer Shambhu Mahato, to wipe his feet before entering the zamindar's haveli set - a seemingly simple suggestion that carried symbolic depth.
Blending music, melodrama, and the struggles of everyday life, Roy elevated Indian cinema to new heights of neo-realism with Do Bigha Zamin. It's very title recalls Rabindranath Tagore's poem Dui Bigha Zomi, adapted by Salil Choudhary for the film, deepening its cultural resonance.
Seven decades on, the Venice premiere reaffirms the film's stature as one of Indian cinema's greatest achievements, a work whose vision and humanity remain as urgent as ever.