“I am happy that a generation that is untouched by the severity of Partition will finally be able to see the movie,” says Sathyu over a telephone conversation from the first Ahmedabad International Film Festival, where he is busy with the screening of his latest film, The Incompatible.

Meanwhile, Purab Gujar, CEO of the two-year-old Cameo Studios, is busy supervising his technicians who are scanning the negatives and removing the chemical stains on 40-odd prints. “I am honoured to undertake a project like Garam Hawa. The damage to the film is medium to high. Since it is a colour film, the composition structure is tough, and restoration work takes time,” says 28-year-old Gujar, who has been working on the film for the past three weeks. They have also recently restored Chetan Anand’s ’60s hit Haqueequat. However, Sathyu rues the absence of a government body for restoring old films: “The National Film Archive of India lacks the kind of modern equipment that is needed to restore a badly damaged film like Garam Hawa. Moreover, it is mostly responsible for preservation of prints and not restoration.”

Sathyu also laments the fact that most of his colleagues from the film are not around for the second release. “I will miss Balraj immensely. His profundity sort of immortalised the film. Others have also left me, especially Jalal Agha and AK Hangal. I am still going strong,” laughs Sathyu. But somewhere you sense an apprehension — and he agrees — about a Friday when Garam Hawa will be released, once again.