chahta hai talks about aspects of traditional film that a digital one would not be able to recreate film is a chemical process in which light enters the lens and hits the negative the chemical reaction creates rich hues light and shade dynamics and dreamy textures that go missing in digitally regimented visuals these lensmen also believe that limited film stock breeds discipline and rigour on the sets the sanctity of a shot is gone when one knows they can indulge in a flurry of takes adds chatterjeearchival durability in the time of constant upgrade cycles is another growing concern something stored on your floppy disk cannot be played anywhere anymore 1k and 2k cameras have no value now while film format cameras from the blackandwhite age can still be used says chandrananyone who has ever suffered the heartbreak of a hard drive crash or tried to watch home videos recorded in a now obsolete device knows of the dark side to digital storage in two reports titled the digital dilemma published successively in 2007 and 2012 the academy of motion picture arts sciences raised concerns about the longevity of digital material although archives surveyed for the reports showed that unlike traditional motion picture film stock that can be stored at proper temperatures and humidity longterm preservation mechanisms to maintain access to digital content for 100 years or longer had not yet been developed this perhaps explains why some reactionaries are gearing up to preserve celluloid in india steered by filmmaker and archivist shivendra singh dungarpur who set up the film heritage foundation in 2014 to protect indias decaying film heritage dungarpurs efforts and the cinematographers wish might get a shot in the arm given that hollywood stalwart christopher nolan is making overtures to the countrys film fraternityafter bringing together professionals from art film preservation and cinema to discuss steps needed to protect the medium of film and reposition its importance in an aggressive digital market in los angeles london and mexico city nolan and tacita dean visual artist and founder of save film a movement petitioning unesco to safeguard the medium of film will be in mumbai next weekend to dwell on the need to preserve photochemical film and keep it available for future generations getting rid of celluloid is like getting rid of the grandmother its not about choosing one above another but the need to coexist hopefully nolan and tacita who wrote to me wanting to come and support our film heritage will draw our industrys attention says dungarpur just back from a rescue mission of resuscitating 30000 film reels in sri lanka this was possible because of the stability celluloid has achieved since 1895 when the lumiere brothers showed the first filmcelluloid is staging a comeback in hollywood some of the nominees at this years oscarsdunkirk phantom thread the post i tonya and call me by your name were mainly shot on film not digital cameras im so glad that veterans such as nolan steven