Los Angeles, Feb 16 (.) The long-lost 1989 cult classic ‘In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones’, directed by Pradip Krishen and written by and starring Arundhati Roy, has been restored in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation and is set for its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival under the Berlinale Classics section, reports Variety.
The selection marks a major milestone for Film Heritage Foundation, as it is the first time one of its restorations has been chosen for Berlinale Classics. Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, who is also serving on the festival’s international jury headed by Wim Wenders, will present the restored film alongside Krishen.
Roy, the Booker Prize-winning author of ‘The God of Small Things’, withdrew from the festival over the jury’s refusal to comment on Gaza. When asked about Roy’s withdrawal, Dungarpur offered no comment.
Originally aired just once on Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan in 1989, the campus comedy disappeared from circulation soon after, achieving cult status through deteriorating VHS copies and online uploads.
Set in a Delhi architecture school in the mid-1970s, the film captures English-speaking, westernized youth navigating academic life with humor, irreverence, and anti-establishment energy, as per Variety.
The story centers on Anand Grover, nicknamed Annie, a perpetually failing fifth-year architecture student who keeps chickens in his dorm room. The slang phrase “gives it those ones” loosely translates to “does his usual thing,” reflecting Annie’s idealistic blundering.
His group includes Radha (played by Roy), Arjun, a student nicknamed Mankind, and Kasozi from Uganda. Their nemesis is Prof. Y.D. Billimoria, whom they call ‘Yamdoot’ – a reference to the Hindu messenger of death.
The ensemble cast features Roshan Seth, Arjun Raina, Rituraj, Isaac Thomas, Divya Seth, and a blink-and-you-miss-it debut appearance by Shah Rukh Khan as Senior.
The 18-month restoration began in 2024 after Krishen donated film materials, including a 35mm release print, digital audiotapes, and original scripts, to Film Heritage Foundation. The team later accessed the original 16mm camera and sound negatives from the National Film Archive of India.
The fragile materials showed severe damage, perforation tears, scratches, mold, shrinkage, and color fading, requiring extensive manual repairs before being sent to L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in Bologna for digital restoration and grading.
“The color correction of the film was time-consuming as there was colour fading in several sections,” Dungarpur tells Variety.
He worked closely with Krishen to ensure authenticity. “I was sharing work-in-progress scenes with Pradip to ensure that we got the colors right, to match the colors the way he had first shot the film and to ensure that we kept the authenticity of the grain of the film,” Dungarpur explains, as quoted by Variety.
Sound restoration also proved challenging due to electrical noise, distortion, and dropouts in the optical elements. Given the film’s reliance on its distinctive English patois and sharp dialogue, Krishen prepared new subtitles for the restored version.
Dungarpur first recognized the film’s enduring relevance while inspecting the print in the Foundation’s conservation lab. “It struck me how contemporary the film seemed thirty seven years after it had its single outing on Doordarshan,” he says.
“I felt that its slice-of-life approach to hostel life, its dialogue with its unique English patois, the uncertainties, pressures and ambiguity that faced young students, the camaraderie and small rebellions, would resonate with audiences even today. I felt that this cheeky, irreverent film should have its moment in the sun after decades of being lost in the shadows.”
For Dungarpur, who also directs the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Berlinale offers a rare dual role. “It is exciting to be at the Berlinale wearing so many hats, in a manner of speaking, as it gives me a truly holistic view of films from contemporary emerging talents to classics at one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world,” he says.
Founded in 2014, Film Heritage Foundation is India’s only non-governmental organization dedicated to film preservation. Dungarpur’s documentary work includes Celluloid Man (2012), a two-time National Award winner, and CzechMate, In Search of Jiri Menzel (2020). In 2025, he received the Vittorio Boarini Award for outstanding contributions to safeguarding cinema as cultural heritage, according to Variety.
The Berlinale, running through February 22, will see its international jury led by Wenders select the Golden and Silver Bear winners from 20 films in competition. Meanwhile, ‘In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones’ returns to the big screen, restored, reframed, and ready for rediscovery.
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