Venice Film Festival announced that the restoration of Bimal Roy’s classic “Do Bigha Zamin” (1953) has been selected for a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival 2025 on a day that coincides with the 116th birth anniversary of Bimal Roy, a filmmaker at the forefront of the Golden Age of Cinema in the 1950s and ‘60s.
The film was presented in Venice by the Bimal Roy family represented by his two daughters Rinki Roy Bhattacharya and Aparajita Roy Sinha, his son Joy Bimal Roy and Film Heritage Foundation Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur on September 04, 2025 at the Sala Corinto.
The Criterion Collection / Janus Films in collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation have restored the critically acclaimed film “Do Bigha Zamin”, the first Indian film to win the Prix International at the Cannes Film Festival in 1954, that was also awarded at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and that won the Best Film and Best Director awards at the first Indian Filmfare awards.
GULZAR:
“It’s amazing that Do Bigha Zamin is restored and will be shown in Venice. This film is historic as it changed the way films were made in India. After Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival, this was the second Indian film to win at the Cannes Film Festival and receive international recognition.
The most important element is that all his films right from the Bengali ones which he made and the Hindi films which he made, all these films were based on literature. Not many people know that Do Bigha Zamin is from a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, which was also called Do Bigha Zamin. The script was done by Salil Choudhury.
I started working with Bimalda, who we used to call Dada, from the film “Kabuliwala” when I was his chief assistant. I have very fond memories of that time. People would say that Bimal-da was like a married print. In those days, the picture and sound negatives were separate and when they were brought together optically to make the release print, it would be called a married print. Bimal-da would shoot two shifts in a day – 7 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 10 pm and would then sit in the editing room working till late night at Mohan Studios. People would say that he is married to films.
Bimal Roy was the coolest director I have ever seen. I learnt not only filmmaking from him, but the art of patience and stamina.
Shivendra, your work through Film Heritage Foundation is beyond filmmaking. You are the director of directors and maker of makers.”
SHIVENDRA SINGH DUNGARPUR:
“When I was working as an assistant to Gulzarsaheb, he would often speak about his guru Bimal Roy. This spurred me to watch all his films right from the time he was a cameraman on P.C. Barua’s “Devdas” to his first Bengali film as a director “Udayer Pathey” to “Do Bigha Zamin”. In his films I was struck by the poetic visuals, the silences, the deep humanism and compassion that he showed in the social themes of his films that highlighted the plight of the marginalized, the issues of the migrant labour, and the urban-rural divide that are still so relevant today. For me “Do Bigha Zamin” changed the face of Indian cinema that brought filmmakers out of the studio to begin shooting on the streets. I am so happy that we were able to collaborate with The Criterion Collection / Janus Films to restore not only “Do Bigha Zamin”, but other classics of Bimal Roy like “Devdas”, “Madhumati” and “Bandini”, which are in the process of being restored.”
SATYAJIT RAY:
“With his very first film Udayer Pathe (Humrahi in Hindi), Bimal Roy was able to sweep aside the cobwebs of the old tradition and introduce a realism and subtlety that was wholly suited to the cinema. He was undoubtedly a pioneer. He reached his peak with a film that still reverberates in the minds of those who saw it when it was first made. I refer to Do Bigha Zamin, which remains one of the landmarks of Indian cinema.”
RESTORATION PROCESS:
The restoration of “Do Bigha Zamin” has taken over three years. The Criterion Collection / Janus Films along with Film Heritage Foundation began the restoration process in 2022. Film Heritage Foundation accessed the original camera negative and the sound negative that had been deposited by the Bimal Roy family at the NFDC-National Film Archive of India (NFAI) for preservation. Film Heritage Foundation conservators inspected the film and found that the elements had deteriorated over time with huge tears, damage from mould, heavy watermarks, and worked on the repair of these elements before the reels were shipped to L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna. The original camera negative did not have the opening titles and the last reel was missing. The sound negative also had problems with poor audio, interrupted dialogues and missing sound. A combined dupe negative on Dupont/Kodak stock from 1954-55 of “Do Bigha Zamin” was found at the British Film Institute (BFI), which was used to complete the restoration.
RESTORATION CREDITS:
Restored in 4K by the Criterion Collection and Janus Films in collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation at L’Immagine Ritrovata and Resillion, in association with the Bimal Roy family.
The film was restored using the best surviving elements: the 35 mm picture negative and the 35 mm sound negative deposited by the Bimal Roy family and preserved at the NFDC – National Film Archive of India and a 35 mm combined dupe negative from 1954-1955 preserved at the British Film Institute (BFI).
SYNOPSIS:
A screening of Vittorio de Sica’s neo-realist classic “Bicycle Thieves” at India’s first International Film Festival inspired Bimal Roy to create “Do Bigha Zamin”, the grittily dramatic tale of a poor farmer’s struggle to save his land from the clutches of a rapacious landlord. Given three months to pay off his debts, the farmer moves to the city, where he takes up work as a rickshaw-puller, while his son becomes a shoeshine boy. They find a home and friendship in the slums, but are also tested cruelly by the city. Battling setbacks with a deepening sense of despair, they race against time to raise the money, but fail in the task. Though the land is lost, and a factory stands where they once tilled the soil, we see that the family has survived their ordeal with dignity and moral values intact. Bimal Roy’s direction has a simple, straightforward grace and emotional depth, while Balraj Sahni delivers a fine, restrained performance as the farmer Shambhu, heart-wrenching in passages like the film’s famous rickshaw-race sequence. Do Bigha Zameen won its lead actor and its director several awards, besides featuring in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1954, where it received a Prix International.
CAST AND CREW DETAILS:
Do Bigha Zamin (Two Acres of Land), India, 1953, Bimal Roy
131 mins, Black & White, Hindi, English Subtitles, 4K
Producer: Bimal Roy, Production Company: Bimal Roy Productions, Cinematographer: Kamal Bose, Art Director: Gonesh Basak, Editor: Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Story: Salil Choudhury, Screenplay: Hrishikesh Mukherjee Dialogue: Paul Mahendra, Lyrics: Shailendra Music: Salil Choudhury
Cast: Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Ratan Kumar, Murad, Nana Palsikar, Nasir Hussain, Rajlakshmi, Noorjahan, Nazir Hussain, Rekha, Mishra, Chitra, Jagdeep, Tiwari, Meena Kumari (special appearance).
WORLD PREMIERE: RED CARPET AND SCREENING AT 82ND VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ON SEPTEMBER 04, 2025
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ABOUT BIMAL ROY:
Bimal Roy (1909-1966) was a highly acclaimed Indian film director, known for his realistic and socially conscious films. He is considered one of the most important figures in the history of Hindi cinema, particularly for his contributions to the Golden Age of Indian cinema in the 1950s and ‘60s.
Born into a landholding family in East Bengal, present-day Bangladesh, Roy initially faced financial hardship after his father’s death. He moved to Kolkata and began his film career as a publicity photographer, eventually becoming an assistant cameraman at New Theatres Studios. At New Theatres, he worked on several notable films, including “Mukti” and “Devdas”, and gained recognition as a talented cinematographer. He directed his first film, “Udayer Pathey” (1944), a departure from the escapist Bengali cinema of the time, which became a commercial success.
Bimal Roy moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1950, following the decline of the Calcutta film industry. In Bombay, he started his own production company under which banner he released his Hindi directorial debut “Do Bigha Zamin”, considered India’s first neo-realist film, which went on to win the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival 1954 and the Prize for Social Progress at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival besides national awards. He went on to direct several critically acclaimed and commercially successful films including: “Parineeta” (1953), “Biraj Bahu” (1954), “Devdas” (1955), “Madhumati” (1958); “Sujata” (1959) and “Bandini” (1963).
Bimal Roy is remembered for his realistic and socially conscious storytelling, his ability to portray human emotions, and his mastery of cinematic technique. Roy’s films continue to be admired and studied for their artistic and social relevance. He passed away in 1966 at the age of 56, leaving behind a rich cinematic legacy.
COLLABORATORS
THE CRITERION COLLECTION
Since 1984, The Criterion Collection, an important series of classic and contemporary films, has been dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. Criterion’s library of director-approved DVDs, Blu-Ray Discs and Laser Discs are the most significant archive of contemporary film-making available to the home viewer.
JANUS FILMS
Founded in 1956, Janus Films was the first theatrical distribution company dedicated to bringing international art-house films to U.S. audiences. Janus handles rights in all media to an extensive library that includes the work of Michelangelo Antonioni, Věra Chytilová, Sergei Eisenstein, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Abbas Kiarostami, Akira Kurosawa, Ousmane Sembène, Andrei Tarkovsky, François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, and Yasujiro Ozu.
Janus handles rights in all media, and its library has grown to more than 1200 films.
