MUMBAI: Aamir Khan’s debut film as an actor titled Raakh, which was released in 1989, is slated to re-release across India on 12 June with 200 prints.
The movie was directed by then first time director Aditya Bhattacharya and produced by Asif Noor.
Raakh was the debut and unveiling of Aamir Khan as an actor. He was 24 year then. During the release of the film in 1989, Khan had said, “I have worked very hard on this film and invested my entire self and ability in it. I learnt a lot during its making.”
Raakh was also the first time for industry bigwigs like – cinematographer Santosh Sivan, national award winning editor Sreekar Prasad, musician Ranjit Barot and Sangeeth Sivan (who was the executive producer).
The film also starred Pankaj Kapur and Supriya Pathak. Pankaj Kapur won the National Award for Best Supporting Actor later that year for Raakh. The film also brought a National Award for Best Editing for Sreekar Prasad and A Best Directorial debut Award for Aditya Bhattacharya from the Bengal Film Journalist’s Association.
The movie is being revived and envisaged by Palador Pictures, which is consulting and advising Audacity International to re-release the movie. “I am really happy I found Gautam and Mohan who convinced me that now is the time to re-release the film across the country and I trust there vision,” says producer Asif Noor.
“Raakh is undoubtedly one of the most influential voices from India and it shaped my early fascination towards films that were non-bollywood. It was tragic to see cult classics like this languishing and in a state of neglect. Restoring and re-releasing Raakh across the world is not just a passion but our duty towards cinema,” says Palador Pictures MD and founder Gautam Shiknis.
“This is exactly the kind of film that Palador is looking to release in its The One World Collection DVDs. Our DVDs were first of its kind bringing master directors like Akira Kurosawa, François Truffaut and Godard; from all over the world to the Indian masses. We will also be the first ones to revive the independent film movement in India and Raakh is the perfect beacon to begin with,” added Palador Pictures co-founder and joint-MD Mohan Polamar.
