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Kalpana

Film Synopsis

A great work of hallucinatory, homemade expressionism and ecstatic beauty, Uday Shankar’s Kalpana (Imagination) is one of the enduring classics of Indian cinema. Shankar, the brother of the great Ravi Shankar, was one of the central figures in the history of Indian dance, fusing Indian classical forms with western techniques. In the late 30s, he established his own dance academy in the Himalayas, whose students included his brother Ravi and future filmmaker Guru Dutt (who worked as an assistant on Kalpana). After the closure of the academy in the early 40s, Shankar started preparations on his one and only film, many years in the making.

Kalpana, with an autobiographical narrative of a dancer who dreams of establishing his own academy (starring Uday Shankar and his wife, the great Amala Shankar – the film also marks the debut of Padmini, who was 17 years old at the time), is one of the few real “dance films” – in other words, a film that doesn’t just include dance sequences, but whose primary physical vocabulary is dance. A commercial failure when it was released, the film is now regarded, justifiably, as a creative peak in the history of independent Indian filmmaking. [WCP website]

Video

Film Details

Alternate Titles: 

Language: Hindi

Original Production Country: India

Original Release Year: 1948

Original Distribution Company:

Production Company: Uday Shankar Production

Executive Producer:

Producer:

Director: Uday Shankar

Writer: Uday Shankar, Amritlal Nagar

Cinematography: K. Ramnoth

Editor: N.K. Gopal

Sound Editor:

Music/Score: 

Narrator:

Other Credits: Cast: Uday Shankar (Udayan & Writer), Amala Uday Shankar (Uma), Lakhmt Kanta (Kamini), Dr. G.V. Subbarao (Drawing Master), Brijo Behari Banerji (Uma’s Father)

Aspect Ratio:

Colour System: B/W

Colour Process: 

Duration: 155 mins

Restoration Details

Status: Release

Country Where Restored: Italy

Restoration Release Date: 1 January 2008

Country Restoration First Screened: 

Lab Image Restored By: L’Immagine Ritrovata

Lab Audio Restored By: 

Archive Partner(s) In Restoration: National Film Archive of India

Restoration Funded By: World Cinema Project & Doha Film Institute

Restoration Premiere:

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About

Since 2012, Restoration Asia has been a showcase for the work of archives, technical service providers and distributors in their efforts to preserve the audio-visual heritage of Asia.

Restoration Asia is coordinated by OWL Studio, and is designed for archivists, scholars, students and professionals as well as those with a shared passion for the preservation and restoration of Asian Cinema & Asia’s cinematographic history.

レストレーションアジアは、アジア内外のアーカイブ、技術サービスプロバイダー、そして配給業者の仕事を紹介すると共に、アジアの映像遺産を保存する取り組みに焦点を当てます。

この継続的な技術シンポジウムは、アーキビスト、学者、学生、そしてプロフェッショナルのためにデザインされました。アジア映画とアジアの映画史の保存と復元のための情熱を共有するシンポジウムです。

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