Sholay @ 50

Renowned script writer, lyricist, poet and activist, Javed Akhtar is the recipient of two of India’s highest civilian honors – the Padma Shri (1999) and the Padma Bhushan (2007). He received the Dostoevsky Star Award in 2025. Known for his contribution to Hindi cinema leading to 15 Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist and Best Screenwriter and five National Awards for Best Lyricist, he is also the recipient of several honorary doctorates including one from SOAS, University of London. His first collection of poetry Tarkash is in its 21st edition in Hindi and 9th edition in Urdu. It has been translated into English, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and recently in French. His books Talking Films and Talking Songs have been hailed by film critics as the most definitive works on Indian Cinema and are in the libraries of major Ivy League Universities. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament by the President of India in 2010. He is the architect of the Copyright Amendment Bill that has finally given copyright royalties to writers and music directors.

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur is an award-winning filmmaker, producer and archivist. His first feature documentary Celluloid Man won two National Awards. His second documentary The Immortals premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and won the Special Jury Award for the Best Film at MIFF 2016. His third documentary CzechMate – In Search of Jiri Menzel is an exploration of the Czechoslovakian New Wave. In 2014 he established Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring India’s film heritage. He is the Festival Director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. He is also a member of the Artistic Committee of the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival, Bologna and of the Honorary Committee of the Nitrate Picture Show, George Eastman House’s Festival of Film Conservation. In 2025, he was conferred with the Vittorio Boarini Award. His first foray into the world of film restoration was as a donor for the restoration of Hitchcock’s silent film The Lodger  by the British Film Institute. He went on to collaborate on two restoration projects with Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation: Uday Shankar’s Kalpana and Dr Lester James Peries’ Nidhanaya that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012 and Venice Film Festival 2013, respectively. FHF has been restoring forgotten gems of Indian cinema including Aravindan Govindan’s Kummatty and Thamp̄, Aribam Syam Sharma’s Ishanou, Shyam Benegal’s Manthan, Satyajit Ray’s Aranyer Din Ratri, Sumitra Peries’ Sri Lankan film Gehenu Lamai, Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin and Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay.

Priyanka Roy heads the screen beat at The Telegraph t2. She has 18 years of experience in film writing, which includes reviews, interviews, trend stories and opinion pieces. She writes on Hindi, English, regional Indian films and world cinema. When she isn’t watching something to review, she relaxes by watching true-crime documentaries.