Satyajit Ray’s ‘Aranyer Din Ratri’ To Be Screened At Cannes; Sharmila Tagore To Attend

MUMBAI (ANI)- A restored 4K version of Satyajit Ray’s 1970 classic Aranyer Din Ratri will be screened at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The film stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, and Rabi Ghosh.

The Film Heritage Foundation shared the news on Instagram, noting that the restoration was carried out by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project at L’Immagine Ritrovata, in collaboration with the Film Heritage Foundation, Janus Films, and The Criterion Collection.

Sumitra Peries’ Sinhalese film Gehenu Lamai will also be screened at the festival.

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director of the Film Heritage Foundation, said restoring Aranyer Din Ratri was a moving experience. “Seeing the film’s beauty revitalized after 56 years — from its haunting score and captivating performances, to Ray’s sensitive portrayal of the Santhal tribals — has been a true privilege.”

Dungarpur also reflected on restoring Gehenu Lamai, a project he described as urgent due to the fragile state of the original elements. “It was a painstaking process, piecing together three different elements to bring it back to its original glory,” he said.

Thanks to support from the French Government and the FISCH initiative, both restorations were made possible.

The Cannes screening of Aranyer Din Ratri will be presented by a distinguished group, including filmmaker and Film Foundation board member Wes Anderson, lead actress Sharmila Tagore, Simi Garewal, producer Purnima Dutta, Executive Director Margaret Bodde, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, and Peter Becker and Fumiko Takagi of The Criterion Collection / Janus Films.

Wes Anderson remarked, “Anything signed by Satyajit Ray must be cherished and preserved. Days and Nights in the Forest is a special gem—modern, novelistic. A clash between castes, sexes, urbans and rurals. The great Soumitra Chatterjee: lost but searching. The great Sharmila Tagore: mysterious, cerebral, mesmerizing.”

Sharmila Tagore shared her excitement: “It’s wonderful that Manik Da’s Aranyer Din Ratri has been restored and will premiere at Cannes. I’m so happy to be there to present it. I was shooting Aradhana when Manik Da approached me to commit to this film for a month—it was incredibly special.”