MUMBAI, 28 October 2023  

On the 86th birth anniversary of National Award-winning actor V. Gopinathan Nair, popularly known as Bharat Gopy or Gopi, the National Film Development Corporation-National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI) has announced that it will be celebrating the iconic role of Bharat Gopy as Krishnan Raju, the henchman-thug in ‘Aghaat' (1985) by screening a brand new 4K restoration of this cinematic gem as part of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI).

Directed by Govind Nihalani and written by the playwright Vijay Tendulkar, the film Aghaat (1985) explores themes of power and ambition through the rivalry between two trade union groups. The role was originally envisioned by Govind Nihalani as a Malayali goon who rises through the ranks of murky trade unionism in Mumbai during the 1980s, and the director wanted the character to be exactly that onscreen, both in words and deeds. The film features a stellar cast that includes Bharat Gopy, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Sadashiv Amarapurkar, Amrish Puri, Achyut Potdar, Pankaj Kapur, Rohini Hattangadi, Deepa Sahi, K.K. Raina, and M.K. Raina, among others.

This classic film will be shown as part of the "Films of Bharat Gopy" retrospective at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. Bharat Gopy stands as one of the most important actors of his generation, with a legacy that continues to inspire actors, filmmakers, and film lovers. With an illustrious background in theater, the filmography of Gopi spanned films made in a range of Indian languages, Aghaat being one of the only two Hindi movies that he has acted in, and included appearances in works by pioneering filmmakers such as Mani Kaul, G. Aravindan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Govind Nihalani, and K.G. George, among others. After he was conferred with Under the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM), the laborious efforts of the National Film Development Corporation - National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI) are making such decades-old hits accessible to the public. To preserve and restore the film heritage of India, the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) was launched in 2015 under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and it is deemed the world’s largest film restoration project.

The film has been digitized and restored in 4K resolution from a single 35mm release print preserved in the collection of the NFDC-NFAI for decades. Director and cinematographer, Mr. Govind Nihalani, was involved in the restoration process as the final restored film was previewed for him. Nihalani praised the restoration and the efforts that were put in by the NFDC-NFAI to restore it.

The world premiere of the restored version of ‘Aghaat’ will be at 2 p.m. on October 28th at Malad INOX Inorbit Mall, and the movie will also run on the birth anniversary of Bharat Gopy on November 2nd at 5 p.m. at Andheri PVR ICON, Infiniti Mall. Older restorations by NFDC-NFAI of Elippathayam, Kodiyettam, and Chidambaram are also being screened at Jio Mami. Visit https://www.mumbaifilmfestival.com for more information on ticket booking and show timings.

HA/PM

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