The Ultra Media & Entertainment Group marked a high-impact presence at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, unveiling a rich blend of restored classics, fresh animation features, and a strategic global expansion of its OTT platforms. In a landmark move, the company presented fully restored versions of Guru Dutt’s most iconic films, paying tribute to the legendary filmmaker’s 100th birth anniversary.

According to a press note shared by the company, the restoration was carried out using a meticulous frame-by-frame 4K/2K manual process, leveraging top-end software like Diamant, PF Clean, and Revival.

This effort, the company said, is part of Ultra’s broader vision to preserve and reintroduce India’s cinematic heritage to global audiences. Among the restored gems showcased at Cannes were ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’, ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’ and ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’.

Speaking from Cannes, Sushilkumar Agrawal, Founder & CEO, Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, said, “We believe the future of storytelling lies in embracing both heritage and innovation. This celebration of Indian creativity — its past, present, and future — is our tribute to the timeless legacy of Guru Dutt.”

Apart from showcasing heritage cinema, Ultra also introduced two new animated projects — ‘The Tarbo’, an action-adventure feature, and ‘The Jungle Boy’, an episodic series centred on survival, friendship, and self-discovery. These form part of Ultra’s growing animation library, which now spans over 4,000 minutes of content.

The company also used its Cannes platform to expand the international integration rights for its newly launched OTT applications: Ultra Play, Ultra Gaane, and Ultra Jhakaas. Each of these platforms serves a niche Indian audience. Ultra Play focusses on film classics, Ultra Gaane offers vintage to contemporary Hindi music videos, and Ultra Jhakaas caters exclusively to Marathi content, including films, series, music, kids’ animation and even cookery shows.

Rajat Agrawal, COO & Director at Ultra, was part of a key panel in the Indian Pavilion this year, addressing the evolving landscape of film screening and distribution — from traditional theatres to OTT and other digital formats. “Restoration is not just technology; it is an act of cultural respect,” he said. “By combining deep passion with state-of-the-art tools, we’re making India’s rich creative history accessible across the globe.”

He also revealed that Ultra is colourising Indian classics like ‘Chori Chori’, ‘Paigham’ (starring Dilip Kumar), and ‘Insaniyat’  — the only film to feature both Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar — using proprietary technology.