Cinema's flashback

The year not only reminded us the Hindi cinema?s glory days but also proved that old is gold.

The year 2004 was remarkably different in many ways as far as the Indian cinema is considered. The year marked the revival of the old films, as there were efforts to recapture few moments of Hindi cinema's golden era. The coloured version of K.Asif’s 1960 blockbuster, was released in theatres. To the surprise of those who were sceptical about its box office outcome, the movie opened to packed theatres. 44 years after it was first released, the film could attract the attention of the present generation! Nobody can doubt the potential of the movie. The timeless beauty of actress Madhubala, the brilliant performance by Prithviraj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar, the magic of Naushad's music and impact of Kamal Amrohi’s dialogues were enough to mesmerise the audience.

The year too witnessed revival of yet two more old blockbusters. The B.R. Chopra’s biggest-ever hit, Naya Daur, is almost ready for a colour revival. The old, unforgettable Amitabh Bachchan starrer Sholay was back with a brand new sound system in an eye-catching new print.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has been busy these days in remaking the 1953 Bimal Roy film, Parineeta, based on a Saratchandra Chattopadhyay novel. The Pritish Nandy Communications has been planning to produce Bimal Mitra’s 1952 novel Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Even Yash Chopra's new release Veer-Zaara has music by the late Madan Mohan. The music, which was composed some 50 years back, was liked by one and all. The year not only reminded us the Hindi cinema’s glory days but also proved that old is gold.

- Sevashree Mohapatra