Restoring a Lost Landmark: The Revival of Badnam Basti

Badnam Basti, a pathbreaking film in Indian queer cinema, has been digitally restored by Arsenal – Institute of Film and Video Art, Berlin. The restoration was carried out using the original camera and sound negatives preserved at the NFDC-NFAI archive in Pune. However, the film’s first reel was missing from the archive, prompting Arsenal to step in with an English-subtitled 35mm print from its own collection to fill in the gaps.
Despite these efforts, approximately four minutes of footage remain lost - even Arsenal’s print does not include them. Only the audio survives for this segment, a reminder of how fragile cinematic history can be, and how much of it still hangs in the balance between memory and material.