Classic Malayalam film, Kummatty is being restored by eminent Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The news was made official by the filmmaker himself via social media on Monday, July 11. The movie that was originally directed by Aravindan Govindan was presented in The Film Foundation Restoration Screening Room. The piece of good news has made Malayalam movie buffs utterly rejoiced and proud. While making the announcement, Scorsese hailed G Aravindan as a pure magician who created the classic film during the late 70s.
The filmmaker further revealed how the movie is accentuated with an engaging story and stunning visuals that are sure to captivate the viewer’s attention even today.
Martin Scorsese added, “Govindan’s KUMMATTY is an adaptation of a Central Kerala folktale featuring a partly mythic and partly real magician called Kummatty. A sweet and engaging story and a visually stunning film, KUMMATTY is a must-see, especially since it has been largely unavailable outside of India until now. Also, be sure to watch the special features with Govindan’s son, Ramu, and Film Heritage Foundation founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.”
The filmmaker further revealed how the plan of restoration for this movie came about to be by naming the prestigious organisations that took part in it. The funding of the project is given by the Material World Foundation.
Scorsese concluded, “KUMMATTY was restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Film Heritage Foundation, and Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with General Pictures and the family of Aravindan Govindan. Funding provided by the Material World Foundation.”
As soon as the announcement surfaced online, it created a massive buzz online. One fan responded to the news and said, “ Thanks Marty for preserving our films. Always a huge fan of your works from India.” Another called it a proud moment, meanwhile, one more sent tremendous love from Kerala to the filmmaker. In addition to this, Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh also reacted to the news by dropping a red heart emoticon in the comment section of the post.
The movie was released back in 1979 and narrated the story of a magician who arrives in Malabar, India. The main cast of the film featured Ambalappuzha Ravunni, Ashok Unnikrishnan, Kottara Gopalakrishnan Nair, and Kuttyedathi Vilasini in pivotal roles.
