The Screening of All-time Blockbuster Hit Amar Akbar Anthony at JIO MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival Turns out to be a Huge Success

The 1977 cult classic Amar Akbar Anthony directed by Manmohan Desai recently completed 40 years of its release.  A fully restored version of this super hit comedy film was selected and screened at Jio MAMI 19^th Film Festival with Star under the “Restored Classics” Section.

Shabana Azmi and Screenplay Writer Prayag Raj

Amar Akbar Anthony was the biggest blockbuster of that year and it featured Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi and Parveen Babi.

Manmohan Desai's son Ketan Desai

As negative right holders of Amar Akbar Anthony, Shemaroo Entertainment made all possible efforts to restore the old negative and digitalise the same. The company made sure that the aesthetics of the film and its original look were retained without compromising on the quality during the process.

Mr. Hiren Gada, Director of Shemaroo said, “We are extremely delighted that our film Amar Akbar Anthony got selected and screened at Jio MAMI 19th Film Festival. Shemaroo, as a company always strives to reinvent itself with times. We were able to restore this iconic film and made the digitised version available. Fans across all ages now have an opportunity to enjoy this movie on the big screen and digitally.”

Ms. Smriti Kiran, Creative Director, Mumbai Academy of Moving Image said, “It was an honor and a privilege to screen ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ at the Mumbai Film Festival as part of our Restored Classics section in the year of its 40th anniversary. Jio MAMI with Star is a strong supporter of preserving the past and celebrating the joy that cinema brings and ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ is a milestone that should be watched by generations to come." 

Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival With Star is an initiative and event with a goal to nurture and ignite a passion for movies. The festival is run by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image popularly known as MAMI.

Keeping the goal in mind, the classic comedy AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY got screened at PVR ICON Mumbai on17th October at 6 pm. The ever so graceful Shabana Azmi shared her memories about the film before the screening. Several other celebrities like Screenplay writer Prayag Raj, director Manmohan Desai’s son Ketan Desai, associate director of the film Anil Nagrath & legendary singer Mohd. Rafi’s daughter Yasmin also graced the event.

The screening was indeed a star studded affair and everyone was happy to walk down the lanes of nostalgia and relive the era of Amar Akbar Anthony. Viewers of all age groups adored this cult classic on the silver screen once again but this time with wider warmer hearts.

About Shemaroo

Shemaroo Entertainment Limited is a leading global content power house, which has played a pioneering role in the arena of content ownership, aggregation and distribution. Shemaroo has been a core part of the Bollywood Industry and has managed to maintain many relationships with the best production houses over the years. With a diverse and growing collection of over 3500 titles, Shemaroo has offered premium content and services to customers in more than 30 countries, across several Indian languages. With the brand in existence for over five decades, Shemaroo continues to redefine itself to respond to the disrupting consumer environment, by delivering content across age groups in genres such as movies, comedy, devotional and kids.

The company’s innate ability to sense the pulse of what an audience will consume, has not only helped it become a trusted partner to few of the biggest media platforms such as YouTube, Hotstar, Star Gold, Zee Cinema, Vodafone, Reliance Jio, Tata Sky, Apple iTunes, Etisalat, but has also helped Shemaroo create entertainment experiences, in ways never thought of. Today, Shemaroo has evolved to be an entrenched player in the digital ecosystem. The entry into the Limca book of records with #FilmiGaaneAntakshri on Twitter is a proof of Shemaroo staying true to its ‘digital first’ vision.