Arquivo

Based on an Indian folk tale, the film tells the story of the magician Kummatty, played by the famous musician and dancer Ramunni The protagonist visits a village, where he entertains the children with dancing, music, and magic tricks. In one of his acts, he temporarily transforms the children into animals. However, one boy, turned into a dog, misses the moment when Kummatty breaks the spell —and has to live in animal form until the magician visits his village again.

Restored in 4K using a vintage 35mm print struck from the original camera negative and preserved at the National Film Archive of India. A second 35mm print with English subtitles was used as a reference. Color grading was supervised by the film’s cinematographer Shaji N. Karun.

“Kummatty” was restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the Film Heritage Foundation, and Cineteca di Bologna at the L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory, in association with General Pictures and the family of Aravindan Govindan. Funding provided by the Material World Foundation.