CHENNAI: Nearly 37 years after it first aired on Doordarshan, In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, written by Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy and directed by Pradip Krishen, is set for a limited theatrical release in India this March following a 4K restoration completed by the Film Heritage Foundation using the original 16mm negatives.
The restored film is screening at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival under the Berlinale Classics segment, even as Roy has withdrawn from the festival after jury president Wim Wenders said filmmakers should remain outside politics when questioned about the conflict in Gaza. Roy on Friday (February 13) said the claim that art should not be political was “jaw-dropping” and announced she would not attend the festival.
Meanwhile, following its Berlin showcase, the restored version of Which Annie Gives It Those Ones will have a limited theatrical run in India this March. Ticket prices will be kept lower to attract students and younger audiences, offering many viewers a rare opportunity to watch the film on the big screen after years of it being available only through old television recordings and private VHS copies.
Set in the mid-1970s at the National Institute of Architecture in New Delhi, the film centres on Anand Grover, known as Annie, a student repeating his fifth year for the fourth time. As he navigates campus life, Annie attempts to avoid the anger of the strict principal, YD Billimoria, nicknamed Yamdoot by students. The narrative draws from Roy’s own student years in Delhi.
Which Annie Gives It Those Ones is also noted for featuring early performances by Shah Rukh Khan and Manoj Bajpayee, who were then active in Delhi’s theatre circuit. Upon its release, it won two National Film Awards, including Best Screenplay and Best Feature Film in English.