[Reader-list] Process of coloring MEA - Interview excerpt

[Abhishek Sharma]

Dear all,
 
As part of my second posting on the research work on the colorization of Mughal-e-azam, I am mailing you a portion of conversation I had with Mr. Rajeev Dwivedi; man behind the colorization technique. It details the process of colorization. The entire interview will feature in the project file. For now, I have tried to keep it as less technical as possible. Still in case you have any questions, you are most welcome.
 

Q & A  with Mr.Rajeev Dwivedi of IAAA on Colourization of Mughal-e-azam:

 

AS (Abhishek Sharma).         What was the inspiration behind the colourization of MEA?

RD (Rajeev Dwivedi).           I was working on a software which can create colourized frames of black and white old films. I came to know that the same was being done for the video format in Hollywood with films like Gone with the Wind. So doing something which puts us ahead of that in the colourization field was the main motive in creating this software. We thought of doing Mughal-e-azam as our first project as no other film is as grand as that. 

During the same time Mr.Dipesh Salgia of Shahpoorji Palanji Group was looking for someone in Hollywood for the same job to be done on MEA. Thus it was purely coincidental that both of us were thinking of this film to be converted into a colourized film at around the same time. It took me around a month or two to find out who actually had the copyright of the film. One fine day we came to know it was Shahpoorji Palanji, the producer. Thus we met Mr.Shahpoorji Mistry who redirected us to Mr.Dipesh Salgia and thus we met each other for the first time. I assured him that we were updating the software and the film format colourization was possible in India in a much lower cost than Hollywood.

On his request we did tests for almost 3 months and finally showed him 1 minute test print of the film on 35mm in which we chose the scene where all the main characters were present in the shot. We showed this on a 35mm format in a theatre and once he was satisfied with the results, as there was no pixelization happening in the frame, we agreed on working together. Now there were some other questions in our mind regarding the colour texture for the film as 15% of MEA was already in colour including a song. The Film Industry had this view that you should have the same colour texture as it was during those times because we were presenting K.Asif’s coloured version. Thus we decided to keep the similar tonal quality as it was there in the original 15% of the film as far as it was possible.

 

AS.      Was the colourized portion recolourized?

RD.      Yes, it was digitally graded to match with the new frames as with time the old portion had degraded a little. The Sheesh mahal song was graded to match the original colours and the skin tone was again recolourized to match the new skin tone given in the rest of the film. In those days they used the Eastman colour which was very bright and the saturation was very high, which might not be accepted by today’s audience who are accustomed to natural colour tones. Thus we had to make those little adjustments while maintaining the originality of the film. 

 

AS.      There were approximately 300,000 frames to be colourized. What was the budget and time period assigned for this mammoth task?

RD.      It took around 1 year to complete the process and because of its grandeur and complications vis-à-vis the variety of objects and characters which were to be colourized the budget went up to Rs.2.5 Crores. This budget doesn’t include restoration.

 

AS.      Kindly explain the process of colourizing a black and white frame in a lay man’s language.

RD.      When we talk about celluloid (35 mm), it is an analog format. For colourization, we needed to convert it into a digital format, so that we could get it on a computer. So, first we transferred the analog data into digital format and then this digital data was sent to the Art Department, where the colour selection or key frame selection is done. Key Frame selection means that we take a frame from a shot which has the maximum objects or characters, etc. These objects are then identified and colours are applied on them. This is taken as a reference point for all the remaining frames. Once the process is done we see the frames on the 2K data (file size), by playing it on a large monitor to see whether we are getting the correct thing or not, whether we need any rework, masking or animation of any sort. Once we are satisfied this data is sent to the processing department and the frame is ready.

So the key frame is like a master shot which works as a reference. Based on the research of the film and the period, we chose the colours and only if no reference material was available for the particular object-colour, we used our imagination.

 

AS.      Colourization has already been happening in Hollywood for the video format. How was it different to do it for the first time for the 35mm format?

RD.      On video format, the data is scanned on a very less resolution files. When we talk about 35mm release print, then the problem which was obvious was that how do you get the systems which can incorporate to 2K Data (file size) to get very high resolutions to avoid pixelization. So we had to find systems which were high in graphic format. We had to import few machines like Digital Disk Recorder, HD Station Plus, etc. from a company called DVS. We had our own indigenous software which was compatible with certain graphic cards so we had to find a suitable system to put everything in place. 

 

 

 

AS.      I have read somewhere that this film has authentic colours. What does that mean?

RD.      Well that’s the greatness of the software where we applied artificial intelligence to it, meaning when we would do colourization on this software, we can select the period to which the film belongs. For example, Mughal-e-azam had a Mughal setting. So when we mentioned Mughal Period, the software would automatically take or detect the colours which are close to that period. Though, our software is capable of giving 3.5 million colour options, it would only select the colour tones closest to the Mughal period. One such instance was a scene in which Dilip Kumar is holding a rose in his hand during a Qawwali. We thought that the rose should be red as it was the symbol of love, but the system did not accept the red colour as in the Mughal period the rose was either white or pink. The red rose which was a product of hybridization, came much later into existence. Thus, the system is perfect as far as the authenticity is concerned.

 

AS.      Some people have taken this colourization as an infringement of the original work while others have taken it as an enhancement. What is your take on it?

RD.      I would say enhancement, because in its original black and white form the film would not attract the new generation. Its colourization has upgraded the quality of the visuals and the details have been enhanced. It is a reincarnation of the classic. Now people are looking into other classic films which can also be colourized and brought back to life. This has surely started a trend which will see a comeback of old classics into the theatres. 

 

 

Regards,

Abhishek Sharma

 

 

 

 

 

 

		
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