Cannes Film Festival 2025: Sharmila Tagore to attend screening of 'Aranyer Din Ratri'

Veteran Bollywood actor Sharmila Tagore is in Cannes with daughter Saba Pataudi to attend the screening of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray's Aranyer Din Ratri at the Cannes Film Festival.

On Monday, Saba posted some pictures on Instagram with mother and wrote, "Cannes 2025! Ma n Me...moments to cherish..."

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The Film Heritage Foundation announced that a restored 4K version of the 1970 film Aranyer Din Ratri will be screened at the Cannes 2025 Film Festival. The film had Soumitra Chatterjee, Tagore, and Rabi Ghosh in key roles.

An Instagram post shared by the Film Heritage Foundation read, "Satyajit Ray's masterpiece Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest, 1970) restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project at L'Immagine Ritrovata in collaboration with Film Heritage Foundation, Janus Films, and the The Criterion Collection."

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

"Working on the restoration of Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri' has been an incredibly moving experience. Seeing the film's beauty and artistry revitalized after 56 years - from its haunting score and the captivating chemistry of its cast, to the unforgettable grace of Sharmila Tagore and Ray's sensitive portrayal of the Santhal tribals - has been a true privilege," Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of Film Heritage Foundation, said in a statement.

"Equally profound was the journey of restoring Sumitra Peries' Gehenu Lamai. I remember so vividly the day Sumitra-ji entrusted me with a DVD of the film, her handwritten notes a testament to her deep affection for this work..."

He added, "Thanks to the generous support of the French Government through our collaboration on the FISCH initiative, we were able to undertake this challenging restoration. It was a painstaking process, piecing together three different elements to bring 'Gehenu Lamai' back to its original glory. My only regret is that Sumitra-ji is not here to witness this rebirth of her poetic vision."

The premiere of 'Aranyer Din Ratri' in Cannes will be presented by film luminaries, including filmmaker and Board Member of The Film Foundation Wes Anderson, film's lead actor Sharmila Tagore, Simi Garewal, producer Purnima Dutta, executive director of The Film Foundation Margaret Bodde, Dungarpur and Peter Becker and Fumiko Takagi of The Criterion Collection / Janus Films.

"Anything signed by Satyajit Ray must be cherished and preserved; but the nearly-forgotten Days and Nights in the Forest is a special/particular gem... Made in 1970. Modern and novelistic. Ray worked in terrain perhaps more familiar to Cassavetes," Anderson said.

"A clash/negotiation between castes and sexes. Urbans and rurals. Selfish men and their hopes and cruelties and spectacular lack of wisdom. Women who see through them. The great Soumitra Chatterjee: lost but searching. The great Sharmila Tagore: mysterious, cerebral, mesmerizing. From the master, another masterpiece."

Excited to attend the gala, Sharmila Tagore said, "It's wonderful that Manik Da's 'Aranyer Din Ratri' has been restored and will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year. This is a very special moment for me and I am so happy that I will be in Cannes to present the film at the premiere... I have wonderful memories of the time spent with my co-actors and Manikda's precision, especially in the way he shot the memory game sequence, was incredible... I would like to thank the Film Heritage Foundation for their amazing contribution in restoring this film."