Martin Scorsese shares Instagram post on Malayalam classic Kummatty

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese has picked up Malayalam film Kummatty for restoration under his film foundation.

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese on Tuesday announced that his film foundation will present the restored version of Malayalam class Kummatty. The Goodfellas filmmaker took to Instagram to announce Aravindan Govindan directed Kummatty will be presented in The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room. Several fans in the comments section thanked Scorsese for picking the film and called it a proud moment for Malayalam cinema.

A still from Malayalam film Kummatty. 

In April, Scorsese’s The Film Foundation launched the Restoration Screening Room to host films restored with the help of the foundation for free. The first movie that was restored and screened as part of this initiative was the 1945 romance, I Know Where I’m Going!

Martin Scorsese shared a post about Kummatty on Instagram. 

Announcing the premiere of the restored version of Kummatty, Scorsese’s post read: “Govindan's KUMMATTY is an adaptation of a Central Kerala folktale featuring a partly mythic and partly real magician called Kummatty. A sweet and engaging story and a visually stunning film, KUMMATTY is a must-see, especially since it has been largely unavailable outside of India until now. Also be sure to watch the special features with Govindan's son, Ramu and Film Heritage Foundation founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.”

In the comments section of the post, several users thanked Scorsese for finding a Malayalam film. A user wrote: “Thanks Marty for preserving our films. Always a huge fan of your works from India(sic).” Another commented, “Proud moment for Mallus (sic).”

Scorsese is co-curating the screening room with Kent Jones. As per a report by the Hollywood Reporter, other titles in the offing as part of The Film Foundation’s restoration program include Federico Fellini’s La Strada, a film noir double feature of Edgar G. Ulmer’s Detour and Arthur D. Ripley’s The Chase, and John Huston’s Moulin Rouge.