Amitabh Bachchan Festival to debut at Festival des 3 Continents

Having conducted a series of hugely successful retrospectives in cinemas across the country over the last year in India – “Bachchan Back To The Beginning”, “Dilip Kumar – Hero of Heroes” and “Dev Anand @ 100 – Forever Young”, Film Heritage Foundation, the not-for-profit organization founded by filmmaker and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, is gearing up to co-present yet another Amitabh Bachchan retrospective at an international film festival for the very first time.

Titled ‘ Amitabh Bachchan, Big B Forever’, the retrospective will be premiered at the 45th edition of the prestigious Festival des 3 Continents this year that will take place from November 24 to December 3, 2023 in Nantes, France. It will feature nine blockbuster films of the living legend such as Abhimaan, Sholay, Deewar, Kabhie Kabhie, Amar Akbar Anthony, Trishul, Don and Kaala Patthar.

More from Entertainment

BREAKING! Arijit Singh announces retirement from singing, singer says 'I am calling it off, it was a wonderful journey' Netflix's 'Idol I' Episode 11 Review: Identity of the killer revealed as the K-drama heads to its finale

Shweta Bachchan, the daughter of the film superstar will be travelling to Nantes to represent her father at the festival.

Amitabh Bachchan states, “Film Heritage Foundation’s initiative to bring classic Indian films back on the big screen in India has been truly remarkable. I am so pleased to hear that they are co-presenting a selection of nine of my early films at one of the oldest and most reputed film festivals – the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, especially as it focuses on the cinema of Africa, Latin America and Asia. Many of these films gave me an opportunity to play a diverse range of characters and work with some of the most significant filmmakers of the time including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Manmohan Desai, Yash Chopra and Ramesh Sippy. I hope that the festival audience will enjoy the selection of films that continue to give so much joy to viewers even half a century since they were made. Even though I will not be there in person, I am delighted that my daughter Shweta will be in Nantes to represent me at the festival.”

Shweta Bachchan states, “I am delighted to travel to Nantes for the Festival des 3 Continents to present some of my father Amitabh Bachchan’s milestone films at such a distinguished festival. This is a special occasion for me as I have the opportunity, for the first time, to represent my father, on an international platform. I would like to thank the Film Heritage Foundation for their exceptional commitment and ability in showcasing classic Indian cinema and drawing audiences back to the big screen when no one had faith that this would be possible. I saw the phenomenal success of “Bachchan Back to the Beginning” - the retrospective they curated on a massive scale to celebrate my father’s 80th birthday last year. Many of us in the family were watching his films on the big screen for the first time and we were overwhelmed. The films being screened in Nantes cover varied genres that will give the audiences at the festival the opportunity to see my father’s remarkable versatility as an actor.”

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation states, “Film Heritage Foundation is proud to co-present ‘Amitabh Bachchan, Big B Forever’- a retrospective of nine landmark films that launched the career of India’s greatest superstar at the 45th edition of the Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France. We had presented an eclectic selection of Indian classics in the Indian Autumn stream of the festival last year and saw the enthusiastic response to the films from the festival audience. We would like to thank Jérôme Baron, the Artistic Director of the festival for giving us another opportunity this year to showcase nine Amitabh Bachchan films spanning a period from 1973 to 1982 when Mr. Bachchan was at the peak of his career, at the festival this year. Mr. Bachchan is an actor who is a worldwide phenomenon and an indefatigable champion for the cause of film preservation and when we conducted a country-wide retrospective of his films last year, the cinemas were packed and the audiences went crazy. Mr. Bachchan has been a childhood hero for me and it gives me immense pleasure to screen some of my personal favourite Amitabh Bachchan films as part of such a prestigious festival as well as to present Film Heritage Foundation’s most recent restoration ‘Ishanou’ (1990), Aribam Syam Sharma’s beautiful Manipuri film that had a red-carpet world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2023.”

Jérôme Baron, Artistic Director, Festival Des 3 Continents states, “The Festival of 3 Continents finds its breath and inspiration by combining its curiosity for contemporary cinema with that nurtured since its origins for classics that are often poorly known or unknown to Western audiences. And Amitabh Bachchan is precisely, as he continues a career that began fifty years ago, the living and iconic embodiment of a link between the past and present of popular Hindi cinema. He is an on screen unique performer and what no other actor has ever been, including in the history of European cinema. After a fruitful collaboration in 2022 with Film Heritage Foundation, we want, by seizing the ball thrown of the “Bachchan Back to the beginning” festival launched last year, to pay Amitabh Bachchan for the first time in France a tribute in nine films which will also be the opportunity to show the world premiere of Cédric Dupire’s astonishing documentary on him ‘The Real Superstar.’”

Festival des 3 Continents offers feature films from Africa, Latin America and Asia and screens, in the fiction and documentary films segment.

THE FILMS

· Abhimaan (Pride) (1973) – directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee

· Sholay (Embers) (1975) – directed by Ramesh Sippy

· Deewar (The Wall) (1975) – directed by Yash Chopra

· Kabhie Kabhie (Sometimes) – directed by Yash Chopra

· Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) – directed by Manmohan Desai

· Trishul (Trident) (1978) – directed by Yash Chopra

· Don (1978) – directed by Chandra Barot

· Kaala Patthar (Black Stone) (1979) – Yash Chopra