The Mirror of Revisited Classics

It's been a summer of classics for me.

- MADHAVAN NARAYANAN

A series of events made me peer beyond the here-and-new into the phenomenon of enduring works of art.

In May, Satyajit Ray's 1970 classic, Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), was screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the presence of actors Sharmila Tagore and Simi Garewal after the film had gone through a six-year-long restoration process.

A month later, an uncut, restored version of Sholay was unveiled at the Rediscovered Cinema festival in Bologna at a memorable setting—an al-fresco screening at dusk on the city's central piazza, with a full crowd watching the classic on the 50th anniversary of its release.

A few days earlier, on the 50th anniversary of Indira Gandhi's Emergency rule, Hazaron Khwaishein Aisi (A Thousand Wishes Like This) became the buzz. Interestingly, Sudhir Mishra's 2003 film, like Ramesh Sippy's 1975 film and Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957)—whose restored version was commercially re-released this April and showcased at Cannes later—had initially opened to tepid audiences, but became all-time classics with word-of-mouth promotion.

But then, this is not just about movies. Be it movies, music or books, the phenomenon of classics begs questions on their enduring mystique, without any answer that involves mathematical certainty. However, with the wisdom of hindsight, I dare say there are several explanations that are equally fascinating.