Devdas, Mother India among 12 Indian films to be screened at Academy Museum for first time

The list of 12 films will include Jodhaa Akbar, Devdas, Mother India, Manthan, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Amar Akbar Anthony, among others.

Cinephiles can watch the movies in the Museum from March 7 to April 19.

Filmmaker and preservationist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, the founding director of the Film Heritage Foundation, curated the series.

Dungarpur said the twelve films are more than just a celebration of cinematic artistry.

Speaking on the selection of the 12 movies, he was quoted as saying by Wion: "When the Academy Museum invited me to curate a program of Indian films, I saw a rare opportunity to present the unparalleled diversity and vibrancy of Indian cinema in colour to a largely unfamiliar audience."

"Beyond Hindi cinema, India boasts five major film industries—Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bengali—that collectively produce over 2,000 films annually, alongside a multitude of productions in other languages and dialects from every corner of the country," he said.

The noted filmmaker said: "These twelve films are more than just a celebration of cinematic artistry; they are a vivid mosaic of language, culture, and colour, offering audiences in Los Angeles a glimpse into the boundless kaleidoscope of Indian cinema."

The official website of the Academy Museum wrote about the screening: "Most Western audiences are not aware of the sheer breadth, depth, and diversity of Indian cinema, with six major geographically and linguistically different film industries making over 2,000 films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bengali every year—not to mention a multitude of films in different languages and dialects made in virtually every corner of the country."

Full list of movies

Mother India (Mehboob Khan) - March 7

Manthan (Shyam Benegal) - March 10

Amar Akbar Anthony (Manmohan Desai) - March 10

Ishanou (Aribam Syam Sharma) - March 11

Kummatty (Aravindan Govindan) - March 14

Mirch Masala (Ketan Mehta) - March 18

Devdas (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) - March 22

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (Aditya Chopra) - March 20

Jodhaa Akbar (Ashutosh Gowariker) - March 31

Kanchenjungha (Satyajit Ray) - April 5

Maya Darpan (Kumar Shahani) - April 8

Iruvar (Mani Ratnam) - April 19