GANDHI, RAY AND SHOLAY: TIFF'S INDIAN HAUL

Ramesh Sippy’s ‘Sholay’ and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have something in common. ‘Sholay’ is 50 and so is TIFF, says Saibal Chatterjee

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Ramesh Sippy's "Sholay" and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have something in common. “Sholay” is 50 and so is TIFF. Yes, one of India’s most iconic blockbusters and North America's premier annual celebration of the art and craft of cinema saw light of day within months of each other. "Sholay" was released on India’s 28th Independence Day in 1975. TIFF got off the ground soon after. It is only in the fitness of things that the 50th edition of TIFF (September 4 to 14, 2025) is hosting a Gala Presentation of a 4K restoration of Sholay as the film celebrates half a century. There is an older Indian film at TIFF this year - film maestro Satyajit Ray's 1970 masterpiece “Aranyer Din Ratri” (Days and Nights in the Forest).

The two classics from opposite ends of the Indian cinema spectrum have been restored to 4K glory at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in Bologna, Italy, with the Mumbai-based Film Heritage Foundation (FIH) playing a key role in the exercise. Significantly, FIH has also been instrumental in bringing Bimal Roy’s neo-realist classic “Do Bigha Zamin” to life again. The 4K restoration of the 1953 film has premiered at the Venice Film Festival. But even as TIFF commemorates its eventful history, its spotlight on contemporary cinema from the subcontinent remains as sharp as ever. Four new Indian films, a web series about Mahatma Gandhi and a Pakistani title by a London-based debutante complete the South Asian lineup at the festival that has long championed cinema from this part of the world.