EXCLUSIVE: Classic 'Madhumati' coming to the big screen againJan 16 (AZINS) Sixty years since it was made, one of the biggest cult classics of its time, the Vyjayanthimala-Dilip Kumar starrer is all set for a revival of sorts with theatrical shows beginning with one on January 31 at 6 pm at the Films Division theatre at Mumbai's Peddar Road. This was revealed by writer, columnist, documentary filmmaker and Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, daughter of the legend Bimal Roy who made Madhumati.

The vice chairperson of 'Children's Film Society of India' (CFSI) and founder chairperson of 'Bimal Roy Memorial & Film Society,' pointed out how the idea was born after her extempore speech at the recent Bimal Roy Memorial awards given away recently (veteran Asha Parekh, filmmaker-actor Anant Mahadevan and late actor Farooque Sheikh). "Since everyone talks of the gold standard his body of work set in Indian filmmaking, I just asked the gathering if they would want to watch my father's work again. And just like that, the response was that they would want to watch Madhumati," she told DNA and added, "I wanted to gauge if people were serious and sent out a paper for people to register with names and numbers and the response was tremendous." She feels this reaffirms her belief in the audience's taste for good cinema.

Madhumati -- whose soundtrack by composer Salil Chowdhury and lyrics by Shailendra continue to awe listeners – was released in mid-September of 1958 and went on to become the biggest hits that year making Rs 40 million plus before the year ran out. It was the first reincarnation-themed film which not only kicked off a whole genre but led to what Roy calls "direct lifting of the plot."

She is still bitter about how the 2007 Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer bumper hit Om Shanti Om was the worst such offender. "There may be those who believe imitation is the best form of flattery. Not me. This was an original story by the celebrated filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak commissioned by my father. Ghatak had also done the screenplay. The least the makers of Om Shanti Om could have done was inform me."

Rinki who came out with a book Bimal Roy's Madhumati: Untold Stories from Behind the Scenes (2014) recounted: "After shooting in Ghorakhal (now Uttarakhand) when Baba found the footage excessively foggy. He then found this place en route to Igatpuri off Khodala where he re-shot some portions along with the song Aaja Re Mein Toh Kabse Khadi Iss Paar. This also worked since Dilip Kumar was shooting Ganga-Jamuna in the same neighbourhood."

She also remembers Vyjayathimala behaving and being treated like royalty when the family went for day-picnics to the location. "Forget non-vegetarian fare, she and her substantially large entourage led by her grandmom Yadugiri Devi would only eat the 'satvik' food she got along even with a special person assigned to fetch her water which she drank only from a silver glass," she says and adds that artificial pine-trees were created to match those found in Ghorakhal along with flowers. "These were taken by tempo and installed even as plastic flowers were strewn on the grass for the shoot."

Rinki has herself watched the film over 10 times and says that she finds newer nuances and facets every time. "I want audiences to enjoy the same on the big screen."

• Madhumati bagged a National Award for best feature film and has won the second largest number of Filmfare awards in several categories