A film that has not been released for almost 25 years has finally found its way to the public, as ‘The Last Tenant’ premiered on YouTube. A young man appears in the film Irrfan Khan next to Vidya Balan.Written and edited by the author Sarthak Dasguptaand produced by Neena Dasgupta and Sarthak Dasgupta, the film is released as a tribute to Irrfan on his death anniversary.“Some films don’t get lost. They wait. In the year 2000, a young filmmaker with no budget, no guarantees and only one vision brought together two extraordinary souls and made something quietly magical. That filmmaker was Sarthak Dasgupta.“Those two souls were Irrfan Khan and Vidya Balan, before the world really knew their names. The film was thought to be gone forever. The images, lost. The memory, alive only in those who experienced it. Until now,” says the caption on the film’s YouTube page.
Irrfan Khan passed away
The actor passed away on April 29, 2020 at the Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Kokilab, Mumbai, after a battle with cancer.In a statement, Vidya said, “It feels surreal to finally see ‘The Last Tenant’ reach audiences. I was just starting out, trying to find my footing. Working with Irrfan was incredibly special then and even more so now considering it’s the only time I got to share screen space with him.”“This film is a beautiful reminder of where it all started for me, and I’m happy to share it as a tribute to him,” he said in a statement.
‘The Last Tenant’ was lost for decades
‘The Last Tenant’ was shelved for more than two decades after its footage was lost, according to a press release. The film was rediscovered only recently when director Sarthak Dasgupta found a VHS copy of it.Known for films like ‘200 Halla Ho’ starring Sarthak, Amol Palekar and Rinku Rajguru, and starring Music Teacher. Neena Gupta and Divya Dutta, said that releasing ‘The Last Tenant’ is a dream come true for her.“Driven by pure intuition, I embarked on a journey, sure it could still turn into a career. Releasing this film now, as a tribute to Irrfan, makes it all the more poignant. It feels like reviving a forgotten dream,” said the director.
