Hindi
Ray makes it to top 99 films of all time by NRI
NEW DELHI: Satyajit Ray‘s Pather Panchali and Aparajito have found a place in a new book by an American-based Indian journalist on 99 Remarkable Films of the World.
Citizen Kane, created more than 66 years ago, still holds its number one position in the world of movies.
The forthcoming book on world cinema, 99 Remarkable Films of the World, by journalist Rajan Zed of Nevada (United States), rates Citizen Kane (1941) as number one among films of the world made so far. Orson Welles was only 25 years old when he directed, starred and co-wrote his first film about real-life newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst.
The other films in the top ten rankings are Gene Kelley’s Singin‘ in the Rain (1952), Casablanca (1942) by Michael Curtiz starring Humphrey Bogart with Ingrid Bergman, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Stanley Kubrick, Lawrence of Arabia (1962) by David Lean, Vertigo (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock, La Regle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game) made in 1939 by Jean Renoir, Gone with the Wind (1939) by Victor Fleming, and Some Like It Hot (1959) by Billy Wilder starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.
“Compressing about 150,000 feature films into a list of 99 was a gigantic and agonizing exercise and cuts were torturous and painful. It broke my heart to see some great films vanish off the list. Ranking always generates argumentation but there is an eternal allurement to rank and rate,” Zed said in an interview. “No one will agree with this film list in totality and no such list is ideal, but I strongly feel I came closer to whatever can be accomplished within these constraints,” Zed adds.
Director Steven Spielberg has the highest number (five) of films listed, although his top film, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), appears at number 25. He is followed by Francis Ford Coppola, Billy Wilder, John Ford, Martin Scorsese, Charles Chaplin, and Frank Capra—with three movies each.
Robert De Niro tops the list as leading actor appearing in four films, although his top film Raging Bull (1980) appears at number 15. Next to him with three movies each are Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, and Charles Chaplin. Among female leading actors, Katherine Hepburn is the topmost with two movies in the list.
No film from 2000s could make this list, and the newest film listed is Fargo (1996) at number 54, while the oldest listed is The Birth of a Nation (1915) at number 87. The top decade during the last century was 1950s from which 23 films are listed, while 1910s was the lowest with just one film.
The year 1939 was the golden year for filmmaking, which brought five films on this list.
While no film showed up in the list from 1983 to 1988, consecutive years 1957, 1958, and 1959 brought three films each to the list.
“Drama” as genre far outnumbered any other category with 45 entries, while “comedy” trailed behind at number two with just 14 films listed, and “thriller” was number three with only eight films. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) is the only animation film listed at number 72, while The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), only horror film to appear on the list, is at number 85.
United States of America brought the highest number (71) of films to the list; with France showing a poor second with seven and Great Britain third with six films. Other countries that made it to the list are Japan, Italy, the erstwhile Soviet Union, Sweden, India, Poland, and Germany. Three films listed were collaborations between two countries. Ingmar Bergman was the director of both the Swedish movies listed. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Great Britain) is the topmost non-USA movie on the list at number five.
About 221 minutes in duration, Lawrence of Arabia is the longest film on the list, followed by Gone with the Wind and Some Like It Hot at 220 minutes each. Duck Soup (1933) is the shortest film listed at 68 minutes, while 75 minute long Battleship Potemkin (1925) is second from the bottom in length.
Hindi
GUEST COLUMN: Why film libraries & IPs are the new engines of growth
Unlocking value through catalogue strength and IP synergy
MUMBAI:In a media landscape defined by fragmentation, platform proliferation, and ever-evolving audience behavior, the economics of filmmaking are undergoing a fundamental shift. No longer confined to box office performance, a film’s true value is now measured across an extended lifecycle that spans digital platforms, syndication networks, and global markets. As content consumption becomes increasingly non-linear and algorithm-driven, film libraries and intellectual properties (IPs) are emerging as strategic assets, capable of delivering sustained, long-term returns. For Mohan Gopinath, head – bollywood business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., this transformation signals a decisive move from hit-driven models to portfolio-led value creation. In this piece, Gopinath explores how legacy content, when intelligently repurposed and distributed, can unlock recurring revenue streams, why the interplay between catalogue and original IP is critical, and how media companies can build resilient, future-ready entertainment businesses.
For all these years, we thought that a film is successful if it performs well in theatres. There are opening weekend numbers, box office milestones, and distribution footprints that gave a good picture of how the movie has done commercially and also tell us about its cultural impact. However, there are multiple platforms today, always-on content ecosystem, which has caused a shift. Today, the theatrical performance is not the culmination of a film’s journey but merely the beginning of a much longer and more dynamic lifecycle.
Film libraries today are emerging as high-value, constantly evolving assets that deliver sustained returns well beyond initial release cycles. This becomes a point of great advantage for legacy content owners with diverse catalogues, to shape long-term business outcomes.
According to FICCI-EY, the media and entertainment industry of India achieved a valuation of Rs 2.78 trillion in 2025 which is expected to reach Rs 3.3 trillion by 2028 through a compound annual growth rate of approximately 7 per cent and digital media will bring in more than Rs 1 trillion to become the biggest sector which generates about 36 per cent of overall market revenues.
This shift is the expansion of distribution endpoints. We know how satellite television was once the primary secondary window but today, it coexists with YouTube, OTT platforms, Connected TV, and FAST channels. Each of these platforms caters to distinct audience demographics and consumption behaviors, helping content owners to obtain more value from the same asset across multiple formats.
For instance, films that had great reruns, now find continuous engagement across digital platforms. On YouTube, classic Hindi cinema continues to attract significant viewership, reaching audiences across generations and geographies with remarkable consistency. At Shemaroo Entertainment, this is reflected in our film library shaped over decades as part of a long association with Indian entertainment. From classics such as Amar Akbar Anthony to much-loved entertainers like Jab We Met, Welcome, Dhamaal, Phir Hera Pheri, Dhol, Golmaal, and Bhagam Bhag, many of these titles continue finding new audiences while retaining their place in popular memory. Their enduring appeal reflects how culturally resonant stories can continue creating value over time. Similarly, FAST channels have created curated, always-on environments where catalogue content can continue to thrive through star-led and genre-based programming.
This multi-platform approach has very well transformed films into long-tail IP assets which are capable of generating recurring revenue across advertising, subscription, and syndication models.
The evolution of audience behavior is equally important. Nowadays, it’s more important to find what’s more relative than what’s recent as viewers are more influenced by mood, memories, and algorithmic suggestions than by release schedules. Even if a movie was released decades ago, it can trend alongside a newly released movie, if surfaced in the right context. Thoughtful packaging, whether through festival-based playlists, actor-driven collections, or genre clusters, allows catalogue content to remain dynamic and continuously discoverable. Shemaroo Entertainment has built extensive film libraries over decades and its focus has mostly been on recontextualizing content for the consumption of newer environments. This process doesn’t just include digitization and restoration, but also re-packaging of films as per platforms.
Syndication itself has evolved into a key growth driver. In perspective, when looking at the domestic market, curated content packages continue to find strong demand across broadcast and digital platforms. Meanwhile, in the international market, especially in markets like Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia, the appetite for Indian content is opening up new monetization avenues. Here, the ability to package and position catalogue content effectively becomes as important as the content itself.
Importantly, the need to re-package catalogue content does not diminish the role of new content. In fact, originals and fresh IP are essential to sustaining the long-term value of a film library because they act as discovery engines that bring audiences into the ecosystem, while catalogue content drives depth, retention, and repeat engagement.
This interplay between the “new” and the “known” is what defines a robust content strategy today. While new films generate spikes in consumption, catalogue titles offer familiarity and comfort. These are factors that are increasingly valuable in an era of content abundance and decision fatigue. This is also shaping our strategy, drawing value from both a deep catalogue assets and a growing focus on original IPs to strengthen long-term audience engagement and build more predictable revenue streams.
There is growing recognition that long-term value in entertainment will be shaped not only by how intelligently existing content continues to live, travel and find relevance, but also by how consistently new stories are created to renew that ecosystem. In that sense, film libraries and original IP are not parallel bets, but reinforcing engines of growth. For media companies, the opportunity lies in making these two forces work together, because that is increasingly where more resilient and predictable businesses are being shaped.
Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s and do not necessarily reflect our own.
