« Back to article

Print this article

Would you like to watch these classics on 3D?

How about some extra D, please?

Didn't get it? Okay, let us explain.

There will be, hopefully sooner than later, a 3D version of Ramesh Sippy's Sholay. However, Rohan Sippy, the director's son, put it perfectly when asked about the development, "Sholay, in any format, is enjoyable." True.

But that brings us to the question, should classics be upgraded technologically (colourised, for instance)? Answer is, if it enhances its digital quality, why not?

We came up with a wish list of movies we would like to see reformatted to 3D. Check out our selection, and send in your wish list too!

Sholay

Imagine how the arid tableland-like locales, the beautifully-filmed songs (especially Koi Haseena, Haan Jab Tak Hai Jaan and Mehbooba) and the chase sequences would look if viewed through those stereoscopic glasses? What a pleasurable experience it would be to catch the various gamut of Sholay's iconic characters, Gabbar, Thakur, Jai, Veeru, Basanti and even the sidekicks who we love.

Mughal-e-Azam

A rather obvious choice, K Asif's lavishly-mounted blockbuster would be a visual feast in 3D. Everything about Mughal-E-Azam, principally its very idea, is big with the capital B.

 

Although it re-released in colour in 2004, it is every cine-goer's right to watch Mughal-E-Azam in its best print. If it is remastered to 3D, what more can one ask for? Just the thought of viewing Akbar-Salim confrontations, Anarkali's mesmerising moves (think Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya), the fateful lovers' interludes and the gorgeous Mughal glory gives us visceral joys. 

Guide

More or less, Vijay Anand's Guide is a perfect film partly because he had the good fortune of having R K Narayan's eponymous novel as his source material.

 

What Guide in 3D would principally do is introduce the classic to new viewers. Of course, nobody's denying that the print quality of the film's wonderful songs (Aaj Phir Jeene and Gaata Rahe) would be enhanced. In any case, even without 3D, Guide remains a top favourite.

Gumnaam

The only horror film in our list, Gumnaam is spooky, its characters aid in creating an eerie ambience and it has a haunted villa that can give the Ramsays a run for their thrills.

 

Every day the murderer goes in for his kill. The irrepressible Mehmood blames it on an 'aatma'. Who's out there going on a killing spree? Gumnaam would definitely look eerier in 3D. Who wants to watch Halloween when we have Gumnaam in 3D?

Don

This one has Amitabh Bachchan at his coolest and it would be exciting to see the actor explode on the screen with his dapper look and that baritone which still reverberates in one's memory.

 

How wonderful it would be to see that famous scene, in which the mafia godhead shoots a mole within his gang saying with remarkable nonchalance, "Mujhe iske joote achche nahin lage. Shoes."

 

Can Farhan Akhtar, instead of building a Don franchise with Shah Rukh Khan, help re-release the original Don in 3D?

Deewar

Big B's smouldering Vijay epitomised the simmering anger people felt post Emergency in the 1970s. Every scene in Deewar is a part of movie lore and each entrenched in our minds as if we'd seen it only yesterday. Yet, if Deewar is re-released in 3D, it would still have partisans line up with a vengeance.

 

Honestly, we'd love to give an arm to see in 3D that first-rate action scene in which Vijay, a beedi dangling between his lips, locks the warehouse to mouth those famous lines, "Tumlog mujhe dhoond rahe ho aur main tumhara yahan intezaar kar raha hoon."

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

Upon its release, this Kundan Shah comedy didn't take off well. Gradually, it developed a momentous reputation as one of Indian cinema's best-loved satires. It's only befitting if the National Film Development Corporation, the film's producers, re-release it in 3D.

 

Since the film doesn't have great production values, a re-touch on 3D would make up for everything. Just imagine how the hilarious Mahabharata-meets-Mughal-E-Azam scene would look in the new version? Betcha!

Mr India

Kids will love it. Bachche khush hue. If there's any film from the 1980s that deserves to be in 3D, it's got to be Mr India.

The lovely adventure, in which Arun (Anil Kapoor) inherits a watch that makes him invisible, would make Mr India a brand film marketers would not be able to resist. Will 3D make Mogambo more evil or that Chaplinesque scene more enjoyable? Keep guessing.

Agneepath

Okay, so Karan Johar is remaking the classic. That as it may, it's a great idea even commercially to get Agneepath transferred to 3D.

 

Just that extra dimension in its print would take Agneepath to another level. On its merit, Agneepath is easily one of Bachchan's best works. But clearly, those jaded action sequences do seem to have some scope for a little sprucing-up.

Lagaan

The larger-than-life epic, shot in Bhuj, Gujarat, has the potential to get even bigger in canvas if its done in 3D.

 

While Lagaan is a new-age film and has fabulous production values, there's nothing wrong in thinking bigger. A 3D makeover would make Lagaan's locales look better and that cricket match between the Englishmen and villagers much more exciting.