A celebration of the memory of Indian cinema through 5 major gems
AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A BLU-RAY BOX SET
Far from being limited to the glitz of Bollywood, Indian cinema has a rich tradition of auteur films, deeply rooted in the social, cultural, and spiritual realities of this vast country. Hailing from different regions of India – from Karnataka to Manipur via Kerala – The Ritual, Thampu, Kummatty, The Mirage, and Ishanou illustrate the plurality and depth of this so-called "parallel" cinema, and bear witness to decades of intense formal and political effervescence. Splendidly restored at the initiative of the Film Heritage Foundation, the five films in this Collector's Box Set are available for the first time on Blu-ray™!
Available in 3 Blu-ray box set
Rigid case + Digipak + Booklet
New restorations
Original versions with French subtitles
THE 5 FILMS
BLU-RAY 1
. THE RITUAL by Girish Kasaravalli (Ghatashraddha – 1977 – B&W – 115 min – 4K Restoration)
Young Nani enters a Vedic school run by Udupa. He finds comfort with Yamuna, the teacher's daughter, but she hides a heavy secret…
BLU-RAY 2
. THAMPU by Govindan Aravindan (Thamp̄ – 1978 – B&W – 130 min – 4K Restoration)
A travelling circus troupe stops in a coastal village in Kerala. Notables and peasants, all inhabitants are invited to attend their performances…
. KUMMATTY by Govindan Aravindan (1979 – Color – 89 min – 4K Restoration)
Kummatty travels the roads of rural India singing and dancing. Young Chinda and his friends are fascinated by this extravagant old man with magical powers…
BLU-RAY 3
. THE MIRAGE by Nirad Mohapatra (Maya Miriga – 1984 – Color – 114 min – 4K Restoration)
Three generations of the middle-class Choudhary family live under the same roof. A series of events will crack the unity and harmony of the household…
. ISHANOU by Aribam Syam Sharma (1990 – Color – 94 min – 4K Restoration)
Tampha leads a happy life with her mother, husband and young daughter. Her life is turned upside down when the young woman is chosen by the deity to become a maibi priestess…
BONUS FEATURES
THE RITUAL ‣ INTERVIEW WITH GIRISH KASARAVALLI (15 min) ‣ THE RESTORATION
THAMPU ‣ INTERVIEW WITH RAMU ARAVINDAN (8 min) ‣ INTERVIEW WITH JALAJA AND SHIVENDRA SINGH DUNGARPUR CONDUCTED BY ANUPAMA CHOPRA (28 min)
KUMMATTY ‣ FILM PRESENTATION BY RAMU ARAVINDAN (6 min)
THE MIRAGE ‣ THE RESTORATION
ISHANOU ‣ INTERVIEW WITH ARIBAM SYAM SHARMA (19 min) ‣ INTERVIEW WITH KANGABAM TOMBA AND SHIVENDRA SINGH DUNGARPUR CONDUCTED BY ANUPAMA CHOPRA (12 min)
THE BOOKLET
THE PARALLELS OF INDIAN CINEMA: RECLAIMED LIGHTS
Through captivating and scholarly analyses, Jérôme Baron, artistic director of the Festival des 3 Continents, invites us to (re)discover the wonderful work of four audacious and visionary filmmakers.
With the collaboration of the Film Heritage Foundation, without whom this project, this release and these restorations would not exist.
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3 BD • HIGH DEFINITION MASTERS • 1080/23.98p • AVC ENCODING
Original Version DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 • French Subtitles
Aspect Ratios 1.66 & 1.37 respected • Black & White and Color • Total Film Runtime: 542 min
Release date: June 16, 2026
