Arundhati Roy's Debut Film Set for Berlin Premiere After 37 Years
After thirty-seven long years, Arundhati Roy's debut film will finally see a proper premiere. The restored version of In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones will screen at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival. This special event falls under the festival's Berlinale Classics section.
Rediscovering a Lost Gem
Many film enthusiasts believed the original print of this 1989 movie was lost forever. The Film Heritage Foundation worked hard to restore it in 4K resolution. They completed this delicate process at Italy's L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with director Pradip Krishen.
The film captures student life at a Delhi architecture school during the mid-1970s. It presents a vivid picture of that era's English-speaking student subculture. Roy herself played a significant character in the movie before achieving literary fame.
Star-Studded Connections
This film holds special historical value for Bollywood fans. It features a brief cameo appearance by Shah Rukh Khan. This happened three full years before Khan made his official Bollywood debut in Deewana (1992).
Roy wrote both the story and screenplay for this National Award-winning feature. She later won the Booker Prize for her debut novel The God of Small Things in 1997.
Festival Details and Film Background
The Berlin International Film Festival will run from February 12 to February 22. Organizers will screen the 112-minute film during this period.
In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones follows the story of Anand Grover, nicknamed 'Annie.' Played by Arjun Raina, Annie is a fifth-year architecture student who keeps failing his exams. He breeds chickens in his hostel room and navigates life with his eclectic group of friends.
The title comes from Delhi University slang meaning "does his usual act." For Annie, this means being something of a bungler - a misguided visionary trying to find his way.
Critical Acclaim and Cultural Impact
Director Pradip Krishen recently reflected on the film's uniqueness. He noted that nobody was making films about English-speaking student subcultures at that time. The characters spoke their own distinctive patois, capturing a specific moment in Indian youth culture.
The film earned National Awards for best feature film in English and best screenplay. Despite this recognition, it only had a single television screening on Doordarshan before disappearing from circulation.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation called the movie pathbreaking. He described it as arguably India's first true 'English' film - irreverent, idiosyncratic, and authentic in its portrayal of 1970s student life.
Though the film vanished from official channels after its initial broadcast, it developed a cult following online in later years. Film students and cinema enthusiasts kept its memory alive through digital sharing and discussion.
This Berlin premiere represents a significant moment for Indian cinema history. It brings an important cultural artifact back to public attention after nearly four decades of obscurity.
